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BJ

Best Buy (BBY) reported second quarter results that topped analyst estimates. D.A. Davidson Senior Research Analyst Michael Baker says that right now, there is a "more promotional environment" caused by retailers' desire to get people into the stores. Looking ahead to the holiday shopping season, Baker tells Yahoo Finance Live that "this holiday season is going to look a little bit more like it did pre-pandemic," with traditional door-buster sales. Overall, Baker says the best positioned retailers are Walmart (WMT), BJ's Wholesale (BJ), Costco (COST), who all benefit from the increase in consumers looking for deals. Baker's other top picks include Ulta Beauty (ULTA), O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), and Lowe's (LOW).Video TranscriptBRAD SMITH: In some of the categories where consumers are continuing to show that they're either looking for a big discount, or waiting for a major sale or promotion to take place, what can you extrapolate from these numbers and apply towards, say, the Labor Day sales, or even further out some of the holiday shopping season sales. Are we going to see major doorbusters, and those deals that consumers have come to expect on a cyclical basis, because there's inventory that needs to be moved through, or just because Best Buy is going to have to do something to entice the customers back into the store here for some of the larger ticket items?MICHAEL BAKER: Yeah sure, a lot there. So it is a more promotional environment, absolutely. We are seeing it more promotional, we expect that over the holiday season. It's more because of the second thing you said, it's just to spur demand and get people to come on in and shop.It's less about inventory. Inventory is actually pretty clean right now, not just for Best Buy, but for a lot of retailers. That was a major issue last year. Most retailers, not all, there's still some pockets of heavy inventory. But most retailers have their inventory well under control. But it is more promotional just to get the consumer to come back in.Story continuesAs relates to Best Buy, the good news is, a lot of it is vendor-funded right now, because the vendors have the same incentive that Best Buy has, and that's to get people back in the store. So it is more promotional than last year. This holiday season is going to look a little bit more like it did pre-pandemic, which is those traditional doorbusters, and those types of things, those types of call to calls to action.Best Buy did say something interesting on the call today, and that is that some of their back-to-school categories are actually doing better than expected, typically that bodes well for the holiday season. Back-to-school points in the right direction for holiday sales in 85% of the time.BRAD SMITH: And so does that mean that we are to believe, and is expected now that the worst in the tech demand, and that lull is behind US?MICHAEL BAKER: Does feel like that. So we're still down year-over-year. But remember, we were down 10% in the first quarter, and then towards the end of last year. This quarter down 6%, and Best Buy is trending at down 5% in August.Still not out of the woods yet, but getting a little bit better. And Best Buy does think it's possible that holiday sales could be closer to flat. So we are trending in the right direction.There are some interesting green shoots that we heard about, in talking to the company. Laptop units were actually flat year-over-year, that's a good sign. TV units are actually up year-over-year. Gaming was a strong category. So there are definitely some positive signs that we're seeing.RACHELLE AKUFFO: And Michael, as we're seeing consumers continue to trade down or trade off, which of the retailers do you think are best positioned, going into the holiday season, and beyond, keeping in mind that we are in an interest rate higher for longer environment.MICHAEL BAKER: Yeah, well bigger picture, we think among the best positioned retailers this holiday season, is Walmart, for sure. They span the spectrum of categories. But when the consumer is trading down, we are seeing some of that. We think Walmart is particularly well positioned in this environment.We think the clubs as well are well-positioned. A name like BJ's has added a lot to their general merchandise offering, and we think that could help their holiday seasons. Costco always does well in that kind of trade down environment as well.BRAD SMITH: And so from an investor perspective here, when you think about some of the top names in retail that investors should be paying close attention to, even amid what Corie Barry, the Best Buy CEO, continues to call a very unfamiliar, or all too familiar macroeconomic environment with several challenges, who would some of those top picks be?MICHAEL BAKER: Well, it's all about expectations and what's already embedded in the stock price. And sometimes the best sales performance doesn't necessarily mean the best stock. But that being said, best ideas, again, Walmart, we think, is particularly well positioned here. We like ALTA on the pullback that we've seen. We think that represents good value for a name-taking market share.Another name that we highlighted as a best idea earlier in the year, and has done particularly well, we haven't really talked about in this conversation, O'Reilly Auto Parts, that space is doing very well. And then the last one we'll throw out is Lowe's, Lowe's has been a particularly good stock this year. For them it's all about closing the margin gap with Home Depot, and through new management over the last couple of years, they've been able to do that.RACHELLE AKUFFO: It certainly makes sense as people try and do more at home with their cars, and with their homes, as well, that those are some of the companies that would also be doing well. A big thank you there to Michael Baker, D.A. Davidson Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst. Thank you for your time this morning.

Yahoo Finance Video

Holiday discounts will look more like they did pre-pandemic: Analyst

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/holiday-discounts-look-more-did-162518270.html

acae9ea0-24b1-312e-a90f-53a1261cbfc8

BJ

Most readers would already know that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' (NYSE:BJ) stock increased by 4.3% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term financial health, we decided to study the company’s fundamentals to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' ROE today.ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital. Check out our latest analysis for BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings How Is ROE Calculated?The formula for return on equity is:Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' EquitySo, based on the above formula, the ROE for BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings is:41% = US$508m ÷ US$1.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2023).The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.41 in profit.What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' Earnings Growth And 41% ROEFirstly, we acknowledge that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings has a significantly high ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 13% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. So, the substantial 27% net income growth seen by BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings over the past five years isn't overly surprising.Story continuesAs a next step, we compared BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 10%.past-earnings-growthEarnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for BJ? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report. Is BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, meaning that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This is likely what's driving the high earnings growth number discussed above.SummaryIn total, we are pretty happy with BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:BJ) Stock Has Fared Decently: Is the Market Following Strong Financials?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bjs-wholesale-club-holdings-inc-113226097.html

aae1add3-ad65-3674-a0c1-cce786b30d48

BJRI

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. PLAY reported second-quarter fiscal 2023 results, with earnings came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missed the same. However, both metrics increased on a year-over-year basis.Earnings & Revenues in DetailDuring the fiscal second quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 94 cents, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. In the year-ago quarter, it reported adjusted EPS of 85 cents.Quarterly revenues of $542.1 million lagged the consensus mark of $558 million. Yet, the metric rose 15.7% year over year.Food and Beverage revenues (33.4% of total revenues in the reported quarter) soared 15.5% year over year to $181.3 million. Entertainment revenues (66.6%) climbed 15.9% year over year to $360.8 million.Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. Quote Comps DetailsDuring the quarter under discussion, pro-forma comparable store sales (including Main Event branded stores) declined 6.3% year over year, but grew 5.8% from 2019 levels.Operating HighlightsDuring the quarter under discussion, operating income amounted to $77.1 million compared with $56.5 million reported in the prior-year quarter. The operating margin was 14.3% compared with 12.2% reported in the year-ago quarter.Adjusted EBITDA was $140.3 million compared with $115.7 million reported in the year-earlier quarter.Balance SheetAs of Jul 30, 2023, cash and cash equivalents were $82.6 million compared with $181.6 million as of Jan 29, 2023.During the fiscal second quarter, the company repurchased nearly 2.1 million shares for an aggregate cost of $74.5 million.At fiscal second-quarter end, net long-term debt totaled $1,278.7 million compared with $1,222.7 million at the end of fourth-quarter fiscal 2022.Story continuesZacks Rank & Key PicksDave & Buster’s currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Below we present some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector.BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 121.2%, on average. Shares of BJRI have increased 5.7% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJRI’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates 5.6% and 423.5% growth, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. ARCO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). ARCO has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.5%. The stock has gained 29.3% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arcos Dorados’ 2023 sales and EPS suggests rises of 19% and 11.6%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.Chuy's Holdings, Inc. CHUY holds a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.6%, on average. Shares of CHUY have surged 61% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHUY’s 2023 sales and EPS implies increases of 9.5% and 32.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChuy's Holdings, Inc. (CHUY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportArcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (ARCO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportDave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Dave & Buster's (PLAY) Q2 Earnings in Line, Revenues Miss

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dave-busters-play-q2-earnings-180700974.html

eaaf8d48-71fb-32f3-8876-1b3fd9d45405

BJRI

The price trend for BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) has been bearish lately and the stock has lost 5% over the past week. However, the formation of a hammer chart pattern in its last trading session indicates that the stock could witness a trend reversal soon, as bulls might have gained significant control over the price to help it find support.The formation of a hammer pattern is considered a technical indication of nearing a bottom with likely subsiding of selling pressure. But this is not the only factor that makes a bullish case for the stock. On the fundamental side, strong agreement among Wall Street analysts in raising earnings estimates for this restaurant chain enhances its prospects of a trend reversal.Understanding Hammer Chart and the Technique to Trade ItThis is one of the popular price patterns in candlestick charting. A minor difference between the opening and closing prices forms a small candle body, and a higher difference between the low of the day and the open or close forms a long lower wick (or vertical line). The length of the lower wick being at least twice the length of the real body, the candle resembles a 'hammer.'In simple terms, during a downtrend, with bears having absolute control, a stock usually opens lower compared to the previous day's close, and again closes lower. On the day the hammer pattern is formed, maintaining the downtrend, the stock makes a new low. However, after eventually finding support at the low of the day, some amount of buying interest emerges, pushing the stock up to close the session near or slightly above its opening price.When it occurs at the bottom of a downtrend, this pattern signals that the bears might have lost control over the price. And, the success of bulls in stopping the price from falling further indicates a potential trend reversal.Hammer candles can occur on any timeframe -- such as one-minute, daily, weekly -- and are utilized by both short-term as well as long-term investors.Story continuesLike every technical indicator, the hammer chart pattern has its limitations. Particularly, as the strength of a hammer depends on its placement on the chart, it should always be used in conjunction with other bullish indicators.Here's What Increases the Odds of a Turnaround for BJRIAn upward trend in earnings estimate revisions that BJRI has been witnessing lately can certainly be considered a bullish indicator on the fundamental side. That's because empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.The consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6% over the last 30 days. This means that the Wall Street analysts covering BJRI are majorly in agreement about the company's potential to report better earnings than what they predicted earlier.If this is not enough, you should note that BJRI currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), which means it is in the top 5% of more than the 4,000 stocks that we rank based on trends in earnings estimate revisions and EPS surprises. And stocks carrying a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 usually outperform the market. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>Moreover, a Zacks Rank of 1 for BJ's Restaurants is a more conclusive indication of a potential trend reversal, as the Zacks Rank has proven to be an excellent timing indicator that helps investors identify precisely when a company's prospects are beginning to improve.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) Forms 'Hammer Chart Pattern': Time for Bottom Fishing?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bjs-restaurants-bjri-forms-hammer-135509818.html

c15f32f0-89f0-3db5-a1c9-4e3cd5b20d0e

BK

BNY Mellon forms strategic alliance with Trustly to pioneer an open banking payment solution with guaranteed settlementNEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK) today announced the launch of BankifySM, an open banking payments solution that helps organizations receive consumer payments from bank accounts, with a seamless user experience and that offers guaranteed funds for business receivables.Bankify couples BNY Mellon's transaction payments expertise with Trustly's market leading open banking capabilities. With this solution, BNY Mellon's clients will be able to offer end-users the ability to easily make payments directly from their bank accounts as an alternative to credit or debit cards and third-party payment platforms. Bankify was designed with all consumer-to-business payment flows in mind – ranging from merchant payments to bill pay, or account/digital wallet funding."Bankify moves the needle for the payments industry in both the depth of the solution and the diverse range of organizations it can support," said Jennifer Barker, Global Head of Treasury Services for BNY Mellon. "Whether you are a merchant looking for cost-efficiencies, a biller modernizing how your customers share banking data, or a brokerage firm wanting guaranteed settlement in order to offer instant use of funds during enrolment, Bankify's account linking experience and settlement guarantee are powerful tools that help an organization's top and bottom lines.""The collaboration between Trustly and BNY Mellon emerged through our mutual focus on advancing the payment industry and establishing a new, alternative, open banking-based standard for consumer and business payments," said Alexandre Gontheir, Founder and CEO of Trustly, Inc. "We believe that consumers have the right to a financially responsible payment method, and that merchants have the right to unique open banking-enabled data insights."Story continuesAbout BNY MellonEstablished in 1784, BNY Mellon is America's oldest bank and the first company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BK). Today, BNY Mellon powers capital markets around the world through comprehensive solutions that help clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment life cycle. BNY Mellon had $46.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $1.9 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023. BNY Mellon has been named among Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies and Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on LinkedIn or visit our Newsroom for the latest company news.Media Contact:Ryan Wells+1 212 298 [email protected] CisionView original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bny-mellon-launches-bankify-301920396.htmlSOURCE BNY Mellon

PR Newswire

BNY Mellon Launches Bankify

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bny-mellon-launches-bankify-125900357.html

bfa13afa-2224-35f2-b370-05c3c3adbbb0

BK

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation BK has partnered with payments company Trustly to launch an open banking payments solution called Bankify.Bankify brings together BNY Mellon’s transaction payments expertise and Trustly’s market-leading open banking capabilities to help organizations receive consumer payments from accounts seamlessly, with guaranteed funds for business receivables.With the help of this payments solution, clients of BNY Mellon will be in a better position to offer end-users the ability to make payments directly from their bank accounts, in contrast to using credit or debit cards and third-party payment platforms.Bankify has been developed keeping in mind all consumer-to-business payment flows like merchant payments, bill pay and account/digital wallet funding.Jennifer Barker, the global head of treasury services at BNY Mellon, stated, “Bankify moves the needle for the payments industry in both the depth of the solution and the diverse range of organizations it can support. Whether you are a merchant looking for cost-efficiencies, a biller modernizing how your customers share banking data or a brokerage firm wanting guaranteed settlement in order to offer instant use of funds during enrolment, Bankify's account linking experience and settlement guarantee are powerful tools that help an organization's top and bottom lines.”Alexandre Gontheir, the founder and CEO of Trustly, said, “The collaboration between Trustly and BNY Mellon emerged through our mutual focus on advancing the payment industry and establishing a new, alternative, open banking-based standard for consumer and business payments. We believe that consumers have the right to a financially responsible payment method and that merchants have the right to unique open banking-enabled data insights.”Bankify has been launched at a time when there are still many questions about the use of open banking.Open banking, which has been prevalent elsewhere, is slowly becoming popular in the United States. Open banking is a system that uses open application programming interfaces that allow third-party developers to build applications and services around the financial institution and let consumers dictate what data can be shared with third parties and apps.With the help of open banking, BNY Mellon will be able to bring down transaction costs.BNY Mellon has continuously been undertaking several growth initiatives, like launching new services, digitizing operations and making strategic buyouts. In 2021, the company, through its subsidiary, acquired Optimal Asset Management.BNY Mellon has been trying to gain a foothold in foreign markets. Given the huge growth potential of overseas securities markets and a rise in complex new securities, the long-term growth prospects of the industry are encouraging. The company’s international revenues are expected to continue improving as demand for personalized services rises across the globe.Over the past three months, shares of BNY Mellon have gained 0.9% against the industry’s decline of 1.5%.Story continuesZacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCurrently, BNY Mellon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Restructuring Efforts by Other Finance FirmsInteractive Brokers IBKR has unveiled a game-changing feature for Hungarian investors – Tax-Beneficial Savings (“TBSZ”) accounts. This will empower investors to make the most of their wealth-building efforts.TBSZ accounts offer Hungarian tax residents an attractive opportunity to enjoy substantial tax reductions on their investments. These accounts are designed to foster wealth accumulation and savings, featuring low account minimums and access to a diverse array of global products, including ETFs, across 150 markets.One of the standout features of IBKR’s TBSZ accounts is flexibility. Eligible investors can actively trade, explore investment opportunities across various asset classes and adjust their portfolios in response to evolving market conditions. With no limits on the amount that can be invested and the freedom to trade in any year the account is open, Hungarian investors have newfound flexibility to craft their financial strategies.Bank of Montreal BMO continues demonstrating its commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions by launching the Extend for BMO app. This empowers BMO Commercial Bank clients in the United States and Canada with enhanced payment management functionality, setting a new standard for convenience and efficiency in corporate banking.The Extend for BMO app introduces various features that empower cardholders to create and distribute virtual cards to their employees' mobile wallets. This innovation allows seamless spending wherever contactless payments are accepted, enabling businesses to manage expenses efficiently.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportThe Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportInteractive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBank Of Montreal (BMO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

BNY Mellon (BK) Launches Open Banking Payments Solution, Bankify

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bny-mellon-bk-launches-open-225900980.html

de2df812-8a24-32ec-8a16-4f9704f7f03e

BKD

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. BKD shares have risen 18.7% since it reported strong second-quarter results on Aug 7, 2023, supported by increased RevPOR, occupancy rate and resident fee revenues. Investors are also hopeful as the company expects RevPOR to further grow 10-10.5% year over year in the third quarter. However, for the third quarter, the company expects adjusted EBITDA within $73-$78 million, down from the year-ago level of $106.9 million.Q2 EarningsBrookdale Senior incurred a second-quarter 2023 adjusted loss of 15 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 20 cents. The bottom line also narrowed from an adjusted loss of 45 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.The top line increased 8.9% year over year to $750.8 million. However, the positives were partially offset by inflationary pressure and higher facility operating expenses.Brookdale Senior Living Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseBrookdale Senior Living Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseBrookdale Senior Living Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Brookdale Senior Living Inc. QuoteQ2 Operational UpdateResident fees in the quarter under review jumped 10.9% year over year to $710.2 million, thanks to higher RevPOR and occupancy rate. BKD’s RevPAR for the second quarter jumped 11.6% from a year ago to $4,544, whereas RevPOR rose 8.8% to $5,939 due to in-place rate increases.Weighted average occupancy climbed 190 basis points in the quarter to 76.5% with the help of the company’s occupancy rebuild initiatives. However, management fees fell 24.6% year over year to $2.5 million. Also, other operating income decreased 51% to $4.1 million from the year-ago period.Brookdale Senior’s second quarter facility operating expense, excluding certain items, increased 3.4% to $531.1 million due to inflationary pressure, higher incentive compensation and referral source costs. This was partially offset by lower premium labor and primarily contract labor usage.G&A costs, including certain items, rose 8.6% to $45.3 million in the second quarter. Facility operating lease expenses rose 21.6% to $50.5 million during this period.Story continuesThe company reported interest income of $6.1 million in the June quarter, up from $0.8 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $4.5 million from $84.2 million a year ago, thanks to higher resident fee revenues, partially offset by higher facility operating expenses and debt interest expenses.Adjusted EBITDA jumped 60.5% to $81.4 million.Financial Update (as of Jun 30, 2023)Brookdale Senior exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $336.6 million, which fell from the 2022-end level of $398.9 million. Total assets of $5,904.7 million decreased from the figure of $5,937.1 million at 2022 end.Long-term debt, less current portion totaled $3,760.6 million, down from the $3,784.1 million figure as of Dec 31, 2022. The current portion of long-term debt was $53.7 million.Total equity of $539.3 million decreased from the 2022-end level of $584.2 million.Net cash flow from operations in the second quarter was recorded at $63.8 million, up from $11.6 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted free cash outflow in the quarter was at $7.5 million, narrowed from $48.5 million a year ago.Zacks Rank & Key PicksBrookdale Senior currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the medical space are Select Medical Holdings Corporation SEM, HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA and Encompass Health Corporation EHC, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Select Medical’s 2023 earnings indicates a 56.9% year-over-year increase to $1.93 per share. It has witnessed one upward estimate revision over the past month against no movement in the opposite direction. SEM beat earnings estimates in one of the last four quarters, met once and missed in the remaining occasions.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCA Healthcare’s 2023 bottom line suggests an 8.6% increase from the prior-year levels. HCA has witnessed six upward estimate revisions in the past 30 days against none in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 5.4%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Encompass Health’s 2023 earnings indicates a 17.9% jump from the year-ago reported figure. It has witnessed five upward estimate revisions over the past week against no movement in the opposite direction. EHC beat earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 14%.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBrookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSelect Medical Holdings Corporation (SEM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportEncompass Health Corporation (EHC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Brookdale Senior (BKD) Shares Jump 18.7% Since Q2 Earnings Beat

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brookdale-senior-bkd-shares-jump-155800132.html

1e341970-6f33-37a0-8ca8-1ad0e42dced5

BKD

Shares of Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) were up more than 12% for the week as of Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Brookdale is the No. 1 provider of senior housing in the U.S., with 672 communities in 41 states. Brookdale issued second-quarter earnings on Monday.Continue reading

Motley Fool

Why Shares of Brookdale Senior Living Climbed This Week

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/7e28f389-412b-32e6-ae49-bc35c18b79af/why-shares-of-brookdale.html

7e28f389-412b-32e6-ae49-bc35c18b79af

BKNG

In this article, we are going to discuss the 30 must-see UNESCO world heritage sites. You can skip our detailed analysis of the global tourism industry, the largest travel company in the world, and the need for sustainable tourism, and go directly to 10 Must-See UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located. As of 2023, there are 1,157 UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the globe. The list is usually revised every year – 3 sites were added in 2022 and 34 in 2021 during the annual World Heritage Committee Sessions. The Global Tourism Industry:Tourism has evolved into a massive industry with time, encompassing several other industries, such as hospitality, transport, entertainment etc. In 1950, at the dawn of the jet age, just 25 million people took foreign trips. By 2019, that number had reached 1.5 billion. As we mentioned in our article – 30 Most Magical Places in the World – the global Travel & Tourism (T&T) industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.1% between 2021 and 2026, to be worth an estimated $8.9 trillion by the end of the forecast period. The World Tourism and Travel Council has reported that the T&T sector contributed 7.6% to the global GDP in 2022, an increase of 22% from 2021 and only 23% below 2019 levels. Largest Travel Company in the World: With a market cap of about $110.77 billion, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) holds the title of being the largest travel company in the world. Operating in over 220 countries and 40 different languages, there are more than 28 million global listings available between hotels, homes, and apartments under the Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) travel sites. Story continuesThe company also strongly felt the shocks of the pandemic when its revenue fell by almost 55%, from $15.06 billion in 2019, to $6.8 billion in 2020. However, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) boasted a revenue of $17.09 billion in 2022 after the revival of international tourism, even higher than its pre-pandemic levels, and the stock price of the company has surged 52.71% since the beginning of the year. This is what Glenn Fogel, the CEO, had to say in the company’s Q2, 2023 Earnings Call Transcript: “I am pleased to report that in the second quarter we continue to see robust leisure travel demand which helped drive the strong results we are announcing today. The 268 million room nights booked in the second quarter increased by 9% year-over-year and gross bookings of $39.7 billion grew 15% year-over-year and was the highest quarterly gross bookings ever. Both room nights and gross bookings came in ahead of our previous expectations as a result of the favorable demand environment. Revenue growth of 27% in Q2 also nicely outperformed our expectations. The strong top line results in the quarter combined with better-than-expected marketing efficiency helped drive our Q2 adjusted EBITDA to about $1.8 billion which is an increase of 64% versus Q2 last year, and meaningfully exceeded our prior growth expectations of about 35%.”Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) ranks among the 15 Best Discretionary Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. The Need for Sustainable Tourism: Although the tourism industry comes as a boon for many and supports millions of businesses and jobs worldwide, it often doesn’t come without a price. An example of this is the listing and rental of local homes on the online platform of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB). In many cities in Europe, the increasing listing of local homes for short-term rental on Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) has created a shortage of available residences for the cities’ residents, leading to insufficient housing and a massive increase in rents. The Italian city of Florence has announced an outright ban on new short-term private holiday rentals, such as Airbnb listings, in the Renaissance city’s historic center. As one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations, Florence has seen its housing stock depleted by short-term rentals, which are defined as covering any period of less than 30 days. Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, described the ban as ‘daring’ but legally defensible. More recently, students in Florence, as well as other Italian cities such as Milan and Rome, have been camping out in tents on campuses to protest a lack of affordable housing. Florence has around 11,000 short-term private rental properties registered online. Mr. Nardella said that the city would not target the 8,000 that already exist in the historic center of Florence, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) has also witnessed a massive revival since the pandemic. The company’s revenue increased by over 148.6%, from $3.38 billion in 2020 to $8.4 billion in 2022. Stock price of Airbnb has witnessed a YTD increase of a staggering 68.75% so far this year. The following was mentioned in its Q2 Earnings Call Transcript:“Q2 was another strong quarter for Airbnb. We had over 115 million nights and experiences booked. Revenue of $2.5 billion grew 18% year-over-year. And when you exclude foreign exchange, our revenue increased 19% year-over-year. Net income was $650 million, representing a net income margin of 26%, our highest second quarter ever. And free cash flow for the quarter was $900 million, up 13% year-over-year. In fact, on a trailing 12-month basis, our free cash flow was $3.9 billion. And this represented a trailing 12-month free cash flow margin of 43%. And because of our strong cash flow and balance sheet, we were able to repurchase $2.5 billion of our stock in the last 12 months, which more than offset the impact of shared dilution.”Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) ranks among the 100 Biggest Technology Companies in the World.With that said, here are the UNESCO World Heritage Sites You Can’t Miss. 30 Must-See UNESCO World Heritage Sitesmuratart/Shutterstock.comMethodology:To collect data for this article, we referred to a number of sources, such as Lonely Planet, The Archaeologist, Washington Post, Reddit etc., looking for the Best UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We picked sites that appeared at least twice in these sources, assigned them a score based on their number of appearances, and ranked them accordingly. When two sites had the same score, we used the volume of foreign tourists that respective country received in 2022 as a tie-breaker. 30. Mount Fuji, Japan Insider Monkey Score: 2At over 12,380 feet (3,775 m) in elevation, Mount Fuji towers over the Japanese landscape below. It’s been a source of inspiration for writers, artists, and worshippers for over a thousand years. The foreign tourist expenditure in Japan reached its highest ever figures in 2019, with $46.1 billion. 29. Persepolis, Iran Insider Monkey Score: 2Founded by Darius I in 518 B.C., Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It was built on an immense half-artificial, half-natural terrace, where the king of kings created an impressive palace complex inspired by Mesopotamian models. The importance and quality of the monumental ruins make it a unique archaeological site. 28. The Red Square, Moscow, Russia Insider Monkey Score: 2An important public marketplace and meeting place for centuries, Red Square houses the ornate 16th-century St. Basil’s Cathedral, the State Historical Museum and the enormous GUM Department Store, as well as a modernist mausoleum for the revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin. Tourism to Russia has plummeted to a mere 4% of its pre-pandemic levels amidst the conflict in Ukraine. 27. Historic Center of Florence, ItalyInsider Monkey Score: 2The city of Florence is one of the Best Destinations in the World for Cultural Tourism. With its incredible museums and gardens, the Tuscan capital is a renaissance treasure and offers a number of hotels and also plenty of short-term rental options. If you have a taste for great red wines, Tuscany is the most perfect place in the world for you. Florence is among the Best UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe. 26. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia Insider Monkey Score: 3Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is named after two of Australia's most spectacular sites – the world-famous sandstone monolith of Uluru and the red domes of Kata Tjuta. Australians are enthusiastic travelers and love to explore their own backyard. Increased domestic demand during the pandemic has continued, and in 2022, overnight and day trip spending by domestic tourists surpassed pre-pandemic levels.25. Hạ Long Bay, VietnamInsider Monkey Score: 3Ha Long Bay is a beautiful natural wonder in northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border. The Bay is dotted with 1,600 limestone islands and islets and covers an area of over 1,500 sq km. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism announced in June that the country had welcomed over 5.5 million foreign visitors in the first six months of 2023, already exceeding the total number of international arrivals in 2022.24. Iguazu National Park, Argentina Insider Monkey Score: 3Sprawling on the borders of three countries on the South American continent, the Must-Visit UNESCO World Heritage Site of Iguazu National Park is where one of the great wonders of nature lies. Known as the largest waterfall system on earth, the Iguazu Falls give the poor Niagara Falls a run for their money.23. Abu Simbel, Egypt Insider Monkey Score: 3Sitting on the bank of Lake Nasser is one of Egypt’s most striking monuments, the twin temples of Abu Simbel. Built by Ramesses II over 3,000 years ago, these temples have stood the test of time. Egypt received 11.7 million tourists in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, amassing over $10.7 billion for the North African country. 22. Leshan Giant Buddha, China Insider Monkey Score: 3Sitting on the confluence of three rivers in Leshan, the 71 meter-high Leshan Giant Buddha is the world’s largest Maitreya Buddha statue carved out of a cliff. Even though the pandemic is over, China has struggled to revive foreign tourism in the country. 21. Venice, Italy Insider Monkey Score: 3Venice is a dream destination that’s made up of more than 118 islands. The only pedestrian-only city in the world, you’ll have to rely on your feet or a boat to experience the captivating atmosphere in Venice. The introduction of an entrance fee for travelers not staying the night, which was announced several years ago by the Venice city council, has yet to be put in place. It has now been postponed until 2024.20. Yosemite National Park, U.S.A. Insider Monkey Score: 3This widely-visited national park in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains is home to alpine meadows, five of the world's highest waterfalls, giant sequoia groves, and the spectacular, half-mile-deep Yosemite Valley. Yosemite is visited by over 3.5 million people each year, many of whom drive 3.5 hours from San Francisco and only spend time in the 18 km² of Yosemite Valley.The Yosemite National Park ranks among the Top 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in our list. 19. Works of Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona, SpainInsider Monkey Score: 3Seven properties built by the architect Antoni Gaudí in or near Barcelona testify to the artist’s exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The seven buildings are – Parque Güell, Palacio Güell, Casa Mila, Casa Vicens, La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, and the Crypt in Colonia Güell.18. Bagan, MyanmarInsider Monkey Score: 4More than 3,500 ancient Buddhist pagodas, temples, and other religious structures occupy approximately 16 square miles of Old Bagan within the larger Bagan Archaeological Zone. Most of the structures were built between 800 and 1,000 years ago, when Bagan was a royal capital. Tourism in Myanmar has become a concern following the Rohingya crisis, with tourists and tourism organizations debating whether it is safe or ethical to travel to the nation. But beyond the political issues, it is clear that tourism can benefit Myanmar's communities.17. Galapagos Islands, EcuadorInsider Monkey Score: 4The Ecuadorian Government and caretakers of the Galapagos Islands have been stuck in a paradox of saving the economy over saving the ecosystem ever since tourism touched the islands. The Galapagos Islands serve as a major tourism point for the country of Ecuador. However, too much tourism may not only hurt the ecosystems of the irreplaceable islands, but also damage the income of native islanders as well as those impoverished on the mainland.The Galapagos Islands rank 17th in our List of Most Beautiful World Heritage Sites. 16. Kyoto, JapanInsider Monkey Score: 4Kyoto is the cultural, historical, and spiritual center of Japan. From 794 to 1868, Kyoto served as the country’s capital and the imperial residence. Although destroyed by several wars and fires over the years, many of the city’s traditional priceless structures still survive.15. Stonehenge, England Insider Monkey Score: 4Believed to be constructed between 3000 BC to 2000 BC, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most awe-inspiring prehistoric megalithic monuments. The total contribution of travel and tourism to the U.K.'s GDP increased by 40% from 2020 to 2023.14. Cappadocia, TurkeyInsider Monkey Score: 4Cappadocia is a land famous for its distinctive rock formation, historical heritage, and scenic hot air balloon trips. Sitting in Central Anatolia, this historical region attracts crowds of tourists from all over the world.Cappadocia sits among the Top 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 13. Vatican CityInsider Monkey Score: 4The world’s smallest independent nation-state remains the home of the pope and the Roman Curia, and the spiritual center for some 1.2 billion followers of the Catholic Church. Vatican City generates revenue through museum admissions and the sale of coins, stamps, and publications.12. Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A.Insider Monkey Score: 4The world’s first national park sits on top of a volcanic hot spot and offers everything from great views to fun activities and wildlife sightings. A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that the 3.3 million visitors to Yellowstone in 2022 spent $452 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 6,234 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $600 million.11. Mont Saint-Michel, FranceInsider Monkey Score: 4A magical island topped by a gravity-defying abbey, the Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay count among France’s most stunning sights. For centuries one of Europe’s major pilgrimage destinations, this holy island is now a Breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Site.Click to continue reading and see the 10 Must-See UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Suggested Articles:30 Top Tourist Attractions in the USAWorld Tourism Rankings by Country: Top 20 CountriesTop 15 Luxury Travel Agencies in the WorldDisclosure: None. 30 Must-See UNESCO World Heritage Sites is originally published on Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey

30 Must-See UNESCO World Heritage Sites

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/30-must-see-unesco-world-102923333.html

93d1b42b-e17a-3d4e-a397-7a078513b28e

BKNG

Analysts are raising their forecasts for earnings of companies whose products people buy when they have money left over after buying essentials.Continue reading

Barrons.com

6 Inexpensive Consumer Stocks With Strong Profit Growth

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/0457d267-61aa-35d7-a845-22a9ab2767e6/6-inexpensive-consumer-stocks.html

0457d267-61aa-35d7-a845-22a9ab2767e6

BKR

The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 1 this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published Friday.The total rig count rebounded to 632 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 147 active drilling rigs. This week’s count is 443 fewer rigs than the rig count at the beginning of 2019 prior to the pandemic.The number of oil rigs rose by 1 this week to 513, down by 108 so far in 2023. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 again this week to 113, a loss of 43 active gas rigs from the start of the year. Miscellaneous rigs rose by 1 this week.The rig count in the Permian Basin rose by 1 this week—20 rigs below this same time last year. The rig count in the Eagle Ford fell by 1, and is now 22 fewer than this time last year.Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing unfinished wells (which is cheaper than drilling new wells), fell for a third week in a row for week ending September 1, to 244, down from 246 in the week prior. The frac spread count is 12 fewer than where it started the year.Crude oil production levels in the United States stayed the same this week, at 12.8 million bpd in the week ending September 1, according to the latest weekly EIA estimates—sitting at the highest production level since 2019. U.S. production levels are now up 700,000 bpd versus a year ago.At 12:39 p.m. ET on Friday, the WTI benchmark was trading up $0.86 (+0.99%) on the day at $87.73—up roughly $2.40 per barrel from this time last week after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to extend their production cut targets to the end of the year. The Brent benchmark was trading up $0.91 (+1.01%) at $90.83 per barrel on the day—up roughly $2.50 per barrel from a week ago.By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.com:The Oil Market Hasn’t Felt The Full Impact Of Saudi Arabia's Cuts YetOil Prices Falling Back But Set For Another Weekly GainChevron LNG Workers Begin StrikeRead this article on OilPrice.com

Oilprice.com

Rig Count Sees Small Gain As WTI Holds At $87

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rig-count-sees-small-gain-171731826.html

bc9750b5-3c88-351b-971a-e9ad287499ce

BKR

(Bloomberg) -- The number of oil rigs operating in the US increased this week for the first time since June as crude prices soared, but drilling remains well below where it was at the beginning of the year.Most Read from BloombergBoss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year SentenceCalifornia Shows an Electric-Car Uprising Headed for the USEverything Apple Plans to Show on Sept. 12: iPhone 15, Watches, AirPodsUS, EU Agree on Mideast-India Rail and Shipping Corridor at G-20Wall Street Fears a Too-Hot Economy as Recession Bets PlungeSome 513 drill rigs are operating in the US, up one from the previous week, reversing a prolonged period of declines, according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes Co. The number of rigs drilling for gas declined by one, to 113.The price of West Texas Intermediate crude jumped nearly 10% in the past two weeks to more than $87 a barrel as the global interest-rate hiking cycle slows and oil supplies remained constrained, particularly by OPEC. Higher prices usually mean more activity in the US oil patch. But producers are being much more disciplined with their capital spending of late, favoring returns to shareholders over excessive supply growth.The number of operating oil rigs is about 17% lower than at the start of 2023, meaning it would take several weeks of steady increases just to make back this year’s reductions.Most Read from Bloomberg BusinessweekHuawei’s Surprise Phone Gives Ammo to Biden Doubters on ChinaLyme Disease Has Exploded, and a New Vaccine Is (Almost) HereIs Carlos Alcaraz the Next Billion-Dollar Tennis Player?©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg

US Oil Rig Count Climbs For First Time in Months

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-oil-rig-count-climbs-175333224.html

7a8c8f7f-2267-37bb-b5ac-f43048a174db

BKSC

CHARLESTON, S.C., July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bank of South Carolina Corporation (Nasdaq: BKSC) announced unaudited earnings of $1,277,717, or $0.23 basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 – a decrease of $265,265, or 17.19%, from earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 of $1,542,982, or $0.28 and $0.27 basic and diluted earnings per share, respectively. Unaudited earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2023 decreased $140,592 or 4.68%, to $2,866,496 compared to $3,007,088 for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Annualized returns on average assets and average equity for the six months ended June 30, 2023 were 0.89% and 13.61%, respectively, compared with June 30, 2022 annualized returns on average assets and average equity of 0.90% and 12.57%, respectively.Fleetwood S. Hassell, President & CEO of the Bank of South Carolina, stated, "Unfortunately, in the second quarter we fell behind our 2023 profit plan and 2022 earnings to date as a result of the continued increase in deposit expense.  Deposit rates paid from other sectors of the financial industry continue to create intense competition.  Further rate increases by the Federal Reserve are unclear; however, the reality of interest rates remaining higher/longer is becoming more of a possibility. Should this occur, we will continue to use it as an opportunity to rebalance the income from our portfolio of loans, investments, and daily liquidity. We remain steadfast in our asset quality, control of expenses, and customer service and believe the future to be encouraging, having successfully opened our sixth office on James Island, declared another quarterly cash dividend, and recently announced a stock repurchase program." The following table shows the balance sheet and income statement highlights: (Unaudited)June 30,(Unaudited)June 30,20232022Common stock shares outstanding                      5,548,2395,552,351Book value per share                   $               7.67$               7.50Total assets                                $  648,405,848$  655,465,190Three Months EndedNet income                               $      1,277,717$      1,542,982Basic earnings per share                         $               0.23$               0.28Diluted earnings per share                       $               0.23$               0.27Weighted average shares outstanding:Basic                              5,551,5025,550,951Diluted                         5,640,9375,693,808   Six Months EndedNet income$      2,866,496$      3,007,088Basic earnings per share$               0.52$               0.54Diluted earnings per share$               0.51$               0.53 Weighted average shares outstanding:Basic5,551,9245,547,767Diluted5,646,5475,682,968 Story continuesAbout Bank of South Carolina CorporationThe Bank of South Carolina Corporation is the holding company of The Bank of South Carolina ("The Bank"). The Bank is a South Carolina state-chartered bank with offices in Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, Mt. Pleasant, James Island, and the West Ashley community and has been in continuous operation since 1987.  Our website is www.banksc.com. Bank of South Carolina Corporation currently trades its common stock on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol "BKSC".Image (PRNewsfoto/Bank of South Carolina Corporation)CisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bank-of-south-carolina-corporation-announces-second-quarter-earnings-301876630.htmlSOURCE Bank of South Carolina Corporation

PR Newswire

Bank of South Carolina Corporation Announces Second Quarter Earnings

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-south-carolina-corporation-announces-130000421.html

1a5dd92c-df01-37ce-87c7-1edb9be3373c

BKSC

CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Board of Directors of Bank of South Carolina Corporation, (NASDAQ: BKSC) (the "Company") the parent company for The Bank of South Carolina (the "Bank"), announced that it has notified the NASDAQ Stock Market of the Company's intent to voluntarily delist its common stock from the NASDAQ Capital Market. The Company further intends to withdraw the registration of its common stock with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").  The Company intends to file a Form 25 with the SEC to remove its common stock from listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market and to deregister its stock under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act on or about September 4, 2023. The Company expects the last trading day of its shares of common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market will be on or about September 14, 2023.  Subsequent to the delisting of its common stock from the NASDAQ Capital Market, the Company intends to file a Form 15 with the SEC, however, the Company can offer no assurances as to when such filing to terminate the registration of its common stock under the Exchange Act will be effective.   The Company has taken steps to cause its shares to be quoted on the OTCQX Market under the symbol "BKSC" beginning on or about September 15, 2023 and expects that its transition to the OTCQX will not create any disruption in trading.Fleetwood S. Hassell, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Much consideration was given to today's decision to change trading platforms and no longer be an SEC registrant.  We have been advised that these actions should have no negative impact on the trading of our stock, but they will most certainly result in significant cost savings for the Company.  We believe this affirms our continued commitment to providing and increasing shareholder value."Story continuesAs a bank holding company, the Company is eligible to deregister with the SEC because it has fewer than 1,200 shareholders of record. The decision by the Company's board of directors to delist and deregister its common stock was based on numerous factors, including the significant cost savings of no longer filing periodic reports with the SEC, as well as reductions in accounting, audit, legal and other costs. The Company's financial statements will continue to be audited by an independent accounting firm, and the Company intends to publish quarterly and annual financial information via press releases or by postings on the OTCQX website (www.otcmarkets.com/home) and the Bank's website (www.banksc.com).  The Bank will also continue to report detailed quarterly financial reports to its primary federal regulator, which are publicly available.About Bank of South Carolina CorporationThe Bank of South Carolina Corporation is the holding company of The Bank of South Carolina. The Bank is a South Carolina state-chartered bank with offices in Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, Mt. Pleasant, James Island, and the West Ashley community and has been in continuous operation since 1987.  Our website is www.banksc.com. Bank of South Carolina Corporation currently trades its common stock on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol "BKSC".Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements herein constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by words such as "believes," "will," "expects," "project," "may," "could," "developments," "strategic," "launching," "opportunities," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets" and similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors. Factors that could cause such differences to exist include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, changes in interest rates, regulatory considerations, competition and the other risks described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we assume no obligation to update any of these statements in light of new information, future events or otherwise unless required under federal securities laws.Image (PRNewsfoto/Bank of South Carolina Corporation)CisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bank-of-south-carolina-corporation-announces-voluntary-nasdaq-delisting-and-sec-deregistration-301909329.htmlSOURCE Bank of South Carolina Corporation

PR Newswire

Bank of South Carolina Corporation Announces Voluntary NASDAQ Delisting and SEC Deregistration

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-south-carolina-corporation-announces-150000343.html

e76df1a0-2a72-36e3-9443-0a8600558b67

BLBD

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGM, rising to highs of US$28.18 and falling to the lows of US$20.02. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Blue Bird's current trading price of US$21.16 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Blue Bird’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. Check out our latest analysis for Blue Bird What Is Blue Bird Worth?The stock seems fairly valued at the moment according to my valuation model. It’s trading around 19% below my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Blue Bird today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe the company’s true value is $26.10, then there isn’t much room for the share price grow beyond what it’s currently trading. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Blue Bird’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.What does the future of Blue Bird look like?earnings-and-revenue-growthInvestors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With revenues expected to grow by a double-digit 30% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Blue Bird. If the level of expenses is able to be maintained, it looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.Story continuesWhat This Means For YouAre you a shareholder? BLBD’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on BLBD, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for the company, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.If you want to dive deeper into Blue Bird, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Blue Bird and we think they deserve your attention.If you are no longer interested in Blue Bird, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/now-opportune-moment-examine-blue-111051408.html

241dcfac-1db6-3e72-80a3-7d3dc7f76d74

BLBD

Bus Will Serve as Mobile Computer Lab and Advance Foundation’s Digital Literacy ProgramsMACON, Ga., August 30, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, has donated an advanced Blue Bird Vision electric school bus to the Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pa. The bus will be turned into a mobile computer lab to expand the foundation’s digital literacy programs for local community members in need.This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230830292283/en/Blue Bird donated an all-electric, zero-emission school bus to the Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pa. The bus will be turned into a mobile computer lab to expand the foundation’s digital literacy community programs. (Photo: Business Wire)The Blue Bird computer lab on wheels will serve both children and adults in low-income communities to develop critical computer skills for future success and upward mobility. The foundation anticipates assisting up to 200 students and adult-learners per week to help close the digital divide in our communities. The mobile computer lab will operate weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and travel to a different neighborhood each day.Jerome Bettis, Pro Football Hall of Famer and legendary former football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, founded the Bus Stops Here Foundation in 1997. Nicknamed "the Bus" for his large size and running style, Bettis has utilized his foundation to provide education, sports, technology, and recreational opportunities to the underprivileged youth of the inner-city. Jerome Bettis also resides in Atlanta, Ga. – the same state that Blue Bird has called home for nearly a century."My Bus Stops Here Foundation has worked over the past few years to help close the digital divide for inner-city communities," said Jerome Bettis, Pro Football Hall of Famer. "Covid-19 really exposed this issue even more, so I knew we had to do something more impactful, and the CyberBus is the next bus stop on that journey to create an equal opportunity for all."Story continues"We are thrilled to partner with Jerome Bettis and his Bus Stops Here Foundation," said Blue Bird CEO Phil Horlock. "Now our electric bus will turn into a powerful vehicle to bridge the digital divide in our communities. In addition, this bus generates zero emissions, protecting the health of our most vulnerable students and communities."Blue Bird donated a pre-owned Vision all-electric school bus in excellent condition to the foundation. The 37-foot electric bus can traditionally carry a maximum of 66 students for up to 120 miles on a single charge.Blue Bird partner organization InCharge Energy will donate a Level 2 AC vehicle charger to the foundation enabling the bus to be recharged overnight. The donation includes the charging hardware, one year of InControl software and data plan, a virtual site assessment and a route planning consultation.Blue Bird is the only U.S.-owned and operated school bus manufacturer in the United States. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with nearly 1,000 electric-powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird manufactures its school buses in Fort Valley, Ga. The shift to clean student transportation helps Blue Bird sustain approx. 2,000 good-paying jobs.About Blue Bird CorporationBlue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. Blue Bird buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – the majority of 25 million children twice a day – making us the most trusted brand in the industry. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird's complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.About Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here FoundationFounded in 1997 by Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jerome Bettis, the Bus Stops Here Foundation is dedicated to improving the overall quality of life for under-resourced, inner-city youth. The Bus Stops Here Foundation accomplishes this by providing financial resources, educational and recreational programs and mentoring that will assist youth in learning to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy choices. In support of the WOW CyberBus initiative, the Bus Stops Here Foundation brings decades of experience in engaging the region’s youth, as well as the brand ambassadorship of one of our region’s most beloved celebrities. For more information, visit https://thebusstopsherefoundation.org.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230830292283/en/ContactsBlue Bird Media Contact Julianne BarclayTSN CommunicationsM: +1.267.934.5340E: [email protected] Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation Media Contact Bethany VietmeierExecutive DirectorJerome Bettis Bus Stops Here FoundationT: +1.412.720.5195E: [email protected]

Business Wire

Blue Bird Donates Electric School Bus to Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blue-bird-donates-electric-school-203000660.html

368367b9-b607-33c9-b1db-bb480de68cbb

BLBX

StockNanny is Targeted at Self-Directed Investors, a Broad Market of 120+ Million PeopleDALLAS, August 09, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackboxstocks, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLBX) ("Blackbox"), a financial technology and social media hybrid platform offering real-time proprietary analytics for stock and options traders, today announced the launch of the beta program for the Company’s new portfolio alert product StockNanny, featuring real-time data from Nasdaq.StockNanny leverages the real-time analytics of the Blackbox platform with artificial intelligence (AI) to alert investors to informational and actionable changes to their individual stock portfolios. StockNanny is integrated with all major online brokers and allows users to import their stock portfolio and receive proprietary alerts in real time. StockNanny features real-time market data from Nasdaq Basic, which includes quotes and last sale data for all U.S. exchange-listed securities."As we continue working to complete our merger with Evtec Group, we’re excited to announce the launch of the beta version of StockNanny which leverages the predictive technology of Blackbox, enhanced by AI, and allows users of online brokerage apps to import their portfolio and receive real-time proprietary alerts," said Gust Kepler, Chief Executive Officer of Blackbox. "We have received many positive reviews from early beta testers and we’re working hard to finalize the product for its official launch. StockNanny will serve a large demographic of over 120 million self-directed investors, a market exponentially larger than that of our current core product at Blackbox."About Blackboxstocks, Inc.Blackboxstocks, Inc. is a financial technology and social media hybrid platform offering real-time proprietary analytics and news for stock and options traders of all levels. Our web-based software employs "predictive technology" enhanced by artificial intelligence to find volatility and unusual market activity that may result in the rapid change in the price of a stock or option. Blackbox continuously scans the Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange, CBOE, and all other options markets, analyzing over 10,000 stocks and up to 1,500,000 options contracts multiple times per second. We provide our users with a fully interactive social media platform that is integrated into our dashboard, enabling our users to exchange information and ideas quickly and efficiently through a common network. We recently introduced a live audio/video feature that allows our members to broadcast on their own channels to share trade strategies and market insight within the Blackbox community. Blackbox is a SaaS company with a growing base of users that spans 42 countries; current subscription fees are $99.97 per month or $959.00 annually. For more information, go to: www.blackboxstocks.com .Story continuesSafe Harbor StatementOur prospects here at Blackbox stocks are subject to uncertainties and risks. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial uncertainties and risks. These forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections about our business, and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this press release. In some cases, you can identify these statements by words such as "if," "may," "might," "will, "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and other similar terms. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, plans for proposed operations, descriptions of our strategies, our product and market development plans, and other objectives, expectations and intentions, the trends we anticipate in our business and the markets in which we operate, and the competitive nature and anticipated growth of those markets. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed in our other filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230809133258/en/[email protected] AdvisoryStephanie Prince(646) [email protected]

Business Wire

Blackboxstocks Launches Beta Program for StockNanny, an AI-Driven Portfolio Alert System Featuring Real-Time Market Data from Nasdaq Basic

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackboxstocks-launches-beta-program-stocknanny-120000576.html

2cda86f5-6aec-326c-ab7e-9f6360285934

BLBX

DALLAS, August 14, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackboxstocks Inc. (NASDAQ: BLBX), ("Blackbox" or the "Company"), a financial technology and social media hybrid platform offering real-time proprietary analytics for stock and options traders of all levels, today announced the Company’s financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2023.Second Quarter Financial and Operating Highlights:Total revenue for the second quarter of 2023 was $737,398 as compared to $1,399,315 for the same period in 2022. Revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was $1,596,402 as compared to $2,671,801 for the prior year period.The average member count for the second quarter of 2023 was 3,937 compared to 5,482 for the second quarter of 2022 and 3,555 for the first quarter of 2023. Average member count for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was 3,756 as compared to 5,954 for the prior year periodOperating expenses net of stock-based compensation decreased by $606,385 in the second quarter of 2023 to $1,336,090 as compared to $1,942,472 for the same period in 2022.Adjusted EBITDA was $(1,014,988) and $(1,036,737) for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 was $2,183,145 and $1,930,583, respectively.Gust Kepler, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are encouraged by the stabilization of the member base for our core product, which is attributable to a reduction in our churn rate. Recent changes to our marketing team are expected to have a positive impact on our growth trajectory. We have also significantly reduced our operating expenses as we prepare for the launch of StockNanny, which we expect to release later this year. StockNanny is a mobile application for the self-directed investor, a market demographic that is exponentially larger than the day-trader segment we currently serve. In addition to StockNanny, our marketing initiatives that leverage our technology through licensing agreements with financial institutions, offers a potential new revenue stream that is much less costly to operate than our current B2C model.Story continues"In addition, we have made significant progress with our merger with Evtec Group Limited and believe this will provide maximum value for our stakeholders in parallel to our continued operations of Blackbox when it is completed."Robert Winspear, Chief Financial Officer, added, "We believe that our sustainable expense reductions will enable us to focus on our new product and marketing initiatives as we continue to pursue our planned acquisition of Evtec Group Limited and certain of its related entities."Summary financial data is presented in the tables below. Please see the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14, 2023 for additional information.About Blackboxstocks, Inc.Blackboxstocks, Inc. is a financial technology and social media hybrid platform offering real-time proprietary analytics and news for stock and options traders of all levels. Our web-based software employs "predictive technology" enhanced by artificial intelligence to find volatility and unusual market activity that may result in the rapid change in the price of a stock or option. Blackbox continuously scans the NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, CBOE, and all other options markets, analyzing over 10,000 stocks and up to 1,500,000 options contracts multiple times per second. We provide our users with a fully interactive social media platform that is integrated into our dashboard, enabling our users to exchange information and ideas quickly and efficiently through a common network. We recently introduced a live audio/video feature that allows our members to broadcast on their own channels to share trade strategies and market insight within the Blackbox community. Blackbox is a SaaS company with a growing base of users that spans 42 countries; current subscription fees are $99.97 per month or $959.00 annually. For more information, go to: https://blackboxstocks.comSafe Harbor StatementOur prospects here at Blackbox stocks are subject to uncertainties and risks. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial uncertainties and risks. These forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections about our business, and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this press release. In some cases, you can identify these statements by words such as "if," "may," "might," "will, "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and other similar terms. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, plans for proposed operations, descriptions of our strategies, our product and market development plans, and other objectives, expectations and intentions, the trends we anticipate in our business and the markets in which we operate, and the competitive nature and anticipated growth of those markets. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed in our other filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.Disclosure of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresWe report our financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). However, management believes the presentation of certain non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, and that when GAAP financial measures are viewed in conjunction with the non-GAAP financial measures, investors are provided with a more meaningful understanding of the Company’s ongoing operating performance. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures are among the primary indicators management uses as a basis for evaluating performance. For all non-GAAP financial measures in this release, we have provided corresponding GAAP financial measures for comparative purposes in the report.We refer to the term "EBITDA" in various places of our financial discussion. EBITDA is defined by us as net income (loss) from continuing operations before interest expense, income tax, depreciation and amortization expense and certain non-cash expenses including stock-based compensation. EBITDA is not a measure of operating performance under GAAP and therefore should not be considered in isolation nor construed as an alternative to operating profit, net income (loss) or cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities, each as determined in accordance with GAAP. Also, EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of liquidity. Moreover, since EBITDA is not a measurement determined in accordance with GAAP, and thus is susceptible to varying interpretations and calculations, EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.-Tables Follow-Blackboxstocks Inc.Summary Balance Sheet DataAs of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022(Unaudited)June 30, 2023December 31, 2022AssetsCash$272,564$425,578Marketable securities673,1743,216,280Other current assets450,144265,197Total current assets$1,395,882$3,907,055Property and equipment, net374,809428,726Investment8,424,000-Total assets$10,194,691$4,335,781Liabilities and Stockholders' EquityCurrent liabilities:Accounts payable$750,097$730,099Unearned subscriptions$720,516$1,022,428Other current liabilities$68,984$71,615Note payable, current portion$28,877$28,733Total current liabilities$1,568,474$1,852,875Long term liabilities:Note payable, net of current portion$25,139$39,614Lease liability right of use, long term$232,667$265,639Total long term liabilities$257,806$305,253Total stockholders' equity$8,368,411$2,177,653Total liabilities and stockholders' equity$10,194,691$4,335,781Blackboxstocks Inc.Summary Statements of OperationsFor the Three and Six Months Ended June 30,2023 and 2022(Unaudited)For the three months endedFor the six months endedJuneJune2023202220232022Revenue$737,398$1,399,315$1,596,402$2,671,801Cost of revenue426,975499,427874,6061,079,389Gross margin$310,423$899,888$721,796$1,592,412Operating expenses:1,741,7222,068,6544,099,8993,782,332Operating loss$(1,431,299)$(1,168,766)$(3,378,103)$(2,189,920)Other income (expense)(6,805)147,333(53,241)368,622Net loss$(1,424,494)$(1,316,099)$(3,324,862)$(2,558,542)Adjusted EBITDA$(1,014,988)$(1,036,737)$(2,183,145)$(1,930,583)Adjusted EBITDA CalculationNet loss$(1,424,494)$(1,316,099)$(3,324,862)$(2,558,542)Adjustments:Depreciation and amortization expense10,6795,85021,19711,125Interest and financing expense14742,26631284,823Investment (income) loss(6,952)105,067(53,553)283,799Stock based compensation405,632126,1791,173,761248,212Total adjustments$409,506$279,362$1,141,717$627,959Adjusted EBITDA$(1,014,988)$(1,036,737)$(2,183,145)$(1,930,583)Tags: SOFTWARE-APPLICATION TECHNOLOGYView source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230814647250/en/[email protected] AdvisoryStephanie Prince(646) [email protected]

Business Wire

Blackboxstocks Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackboxstocks-announces-second-quarter-2023-120000940.html

656eda15-88e1-33a8-9b2f-f5e7c9dd38f0

BLD

Fluor Corporation FLR is set to sell its Stork business in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands along with its U.S. turbo blading manufacturing operation to Bilfinger SE, a Germany-based industrial services provider.The transaction is processed under the supervision of Lazard, a financial advisory and asset management firm, along with necessary consultations with the representative body of the applicable works councils under various customary conditions. The divestiture is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, taking Fluor a step further toward focusing on its core businesses and capital priorities.Furthermore, on Sep 6, 2023, Fluor entered into a settlement agreement with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the accounting improprieties charges. The SEC investigated the company regarding this matter in 2020 in alignment with two of its large-scale construction projects.  To settle this matter, Fluor will have to pay a civil penalty of $14.5 million.Fluor’s Growth-Driving InitiativesFluor focuses on expanding its business portfolio and increasing profitability through various strategic initiatives including accretive acquisitions and valuable divestitures. Also, its efficient service has increased its contract wins over the years. The company is working toward strengthening its market leadership, execution improvement at the project and management levels as well as effective working scenarios with its joint venture partners. These will enable it to accelerate its growth trend in the market.As a part of its strategic initiative, on Mar 14, 2023, Fluor divested its AMECO South America business, which includes assets in Chile and Peru, to STRACON Group. Previously, it had divested AMECO’s Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico and North America businesses.During the second quarter of 2023, Fluor witnessed contract wins in all of its reportable segments. Its total new awards for the quarter came in at $3.71 billion compared with $3.55 billion in the year-ago period. This brings the consolidated backlog at the second-quarter end at $25.48 billion. Given the growth trends and backlog level, the company raised its full year 2023 guidance, highlighting its solid prospects.Story continuesZacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchShares of FLR gained 20% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry’s 7.7% growth.Zacks RankFluor currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Other Key PicksSome other top-ranked stocks from the Construction sector are EMCOR Group, Inc. EME, TopBuild Corp. BLD and Meritage Homes Corporation MTH.EMCOR currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.EME delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.2%, on average. Shares of the company have risen 85.2% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EME’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates growth of 11.5% and 35.9%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported levels.TopBuild currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. BLD delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.1%, on average. Shares of the company have risen 55.4% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLD’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates growth of 3.3% and 6.1%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported levels.Meritage Homes currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. MTH delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 24.1%, on average. Shares of the company have gained 75.5% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTH’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates decline of 3.2% and 27.3%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported levels.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportFluor Corporation (FLR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportEMCOR Group, Inc. (EME) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMeritage Homes Corporation (MTH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTopBuild Corp. (BLD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Fluor (FLR) to Divest Stork European Business to Bilfinger

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fluor-flr-divest-stork-european-160400736.html

e65d7b98-99a3-3e00-a968-2d53f2939669

BLD

AECOM ACM has been selected as the lead designer for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) I-405, Brickyard to SR 527 Improvement Project, in partnership with Skanska.The primary purpose of this project is to expand and renovate the 4.5 miles of the I-405 corridor in Bothell, WA. This includes the expansion of the dual express toll lane system from south of the I-405/SR 522 interchange to the I-405/SR 527 interchange. This upgradation will benefit the communities throughout the entire I-405 corridor with improved traffic conditions, direct access to state highways and other related conveniences.Furthermore, the project also comprises additional improvements namely new lanes, direct access ramps, interchange improvements, infrastructure in support of Sound Transit’s Stride Bus Rapid Transit program, and new fish passage culverts within the project vicinity. This $834 million project is expected to begin in November 2023 and will open for public use in late 2028.Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchShares of AECOM declined 1.4% on Sep 6 during the trading session. The stock has gained 3.4% in the past three months compared with the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry’s 7.8% growth. Although shares of the company have underperformed its industry, its ongoing contract wins position it well to gain momentum in the upcoming period.Global Infrastructure Spending Drives AECOM’s GrowthAECOM is expecting its solid pipeline of opportunities to be up in the double digits in the Americas design business. This is backed by its clients' strengthening funding backdrop, including benefits from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the Jobs Act in the United States, which ensure the continued growth of the company’s backlog. This highlights the increased demand for AECOM’s technical, advisory and program management capabilities. Also, the rising demand for ESG-related services underpins the company’s expectation for accelerating revenue growth in fiscal 2023 and continued margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth.AECOM is also witnessing growth in its international infrastructure spending, owing to the improvement in the global economic scenario. It has been benefiting from solid infrastructure spending in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Middle East. Management remains confident to attain its goal of double-digit International margins by 2024.At the end of third-quarter fiscal 2023, AECOM’s total backlog increased to $41.63 billion (including 10% growth in the design business) from $41.13 billion in the prior-year quarter.Story continuesZacks RankAECOM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks from the Construction sector are EMCOR Group, Inc. EME, TopBuild Corp. BLD and Fluor Corporation FLR.EMCOR currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.EME delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.2%, on average. Shares of the company have risen 85.2% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EME’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates growth of 11.5% and 35.9%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported levels.TopBuild currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. BLD delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.1%, on average. Shares of the company have risen 55.4% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLD’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates growth of 3.3% and 6.1%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported levels.Fluor currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. FLR delivered a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 5.3%, on average. Shares of the company have gained 35.1% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FLR’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates growth of 11.3% and 141.5%, respectively, from the previous year’s reported levels.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportFluor Corporation (FLR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAECOM (ACM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportEMCOR Group, Inc. (EME) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTopBuild Corp. (BLD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

AECOM (ACM), Skanska to Design WSDOT's Improvement Project

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aecom-acm-skanska-design-wsdots-160800603.html

2fd94e17-3bf7-356e-af4e-8eec45fd9dc4

BLFS

Market forces rained on the parade of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon.Following the downgrade, the consensus from eight analysts covering BioLife Solutions is for revenues of US$153m in 2023, implying a discernible 5.5% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. The loss per share is anticipated to greatly reduce in the near future, narrowing 33% to US$1.29. However, before this estimates update, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$186m and US$0.81 per share in losses. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts. Check out our latest analysis for BioLife Solutions earnings-and-revenue-growthThe consensus price target fell 17% to US$25.14, implicitly signalling that lower earnings per share are a leading indicator for BioLife Solutions' valuation.Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 11% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2023. That is a notable change from historical growth of 47% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 6.5% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - BioLife Solutions is expected to lag the wider industry.The Bottom LineThe most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. Unfortunately analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, and industry data suggests that BioLife Solutions' revenues are expected to grow slower than the wider market. With a serious cut to this year's expectations and a falling price target, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were becoming wary of BioLife Solutions.Story continuesEven so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. We have estimates - from multiple BioLife Solutions analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Some BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Analysts Just Made A Major Cut To Next Year's Estimates

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biolife-solutions-inc-nasdaq-blfs-100556307.html

484fa40f-fd26-37c7-8851-6cc655e545cc

BLFS

Shares of BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ: BLFS) were down more than 37% for the week, as of 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. BioLife is a cell- and gene-therapy bioproduction tools and services company. It makes cell-storage media, thawing solutions, cold chain accessories, and cryopreservation freeze media products.Continue reading

Motley Fool

Why Shares of BioLife Solutions Plummeted This Week

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/24c94d0b-fad3-3d89-89a0-08a82f277994/why-shares-of-biolife.html

24c94d0b-fad3-3d89-89a0-08a82f277994

BLIN

Bridgeline Digital, Inc.WOBURN, Mass., Aug. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLIN), a leading marketing technology software provider, is pleased to announce its new partnership with Filters Fast, the number one filtration retailer in the United States.Filters Fast will leverage Bridgeline's HawkSearch AI software to power their search and recommendations engine to grow their revenue strategy. The company selected HawkSearch above other site search tools after recognizing its superior reporting capabilities and seamless integration. HawkSearch, with its RapidUI implementation method, was able to fulfill Filters Fast's requirements and integrate seamlessly into their custom platform.Based in North Carolina, Filters Fast is the leading online retailer for filtration products in the U.S., offering an extensive catalog of filtration solutions for both household solutions and commercial-grade filtration systems. HawkSearch powers search for other eCommerce leaders with expansive online catalogs such as Berlin Packaging, Misumi USA, and Packard, Inc.Ari Kahn, CEO of Bridgeline Digital, stated, "Filters Fast has showcased remarkable growth, underpinned by their expansive, high-quality product range and a commitment to customer satisfaction. Our partnership serves as a milestone in their ongoing eCommerce strategy, and we're delighted to play a role in their revenue growth."About Bridgeline DigitalBridgeline helps companies grow online revenue by increasing traffic, conversion rates, and average order value. To learn more, please visit www.bridgeline.com.For more information, visit www.bridgeline.com.Contact:Danielle ErwinSVP of MarketingBridgeline [email protected]

GlobeNewswire

Filters Fast Clears the Path for Growth with Bridgeline

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/filters-fast-clears-path-growth-123000389.html

84e11617-614e-3dd4-9077-ef38ca617988

BLIN

In this piece, we will take a look at ten stocks that are about to explode. If you want to skip our background of the stock market then take a look at 5 Stocks That Are About To Explode. The stock market has been quite tumultuous recently. The Federal Reserve's rapid interest rate hikes that have pushed the rates to a two decade high have significantly changed today's investment dynamics and shaken up several industries. They have also made money market funds and the U.S. dollar quite attractive as well, with the greenback always eager to flex its claws at the slightest hint of more interest rate hikes.Today's interest rate environment started shaping last year at quite an inopportune time. It came right at the time when inflation was rising in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic due to the lax fiscal policies of central banks all over the world. While this alone would not have shocked markets, inflation, which was already high due to the monetary policies, soared as the Russian invasion of Ukraine started and the global energy market was disrupted. Europe rushed to diversify its oil sourcing from Russia, and the sweet crude produced in Saudi Arabia became the oil of choice all over. At the same time, countries like Qatar benefited as a key component of Europe's energy diversification was choosing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet its energy needs.The impact of this on the stock market was divided. On one side, growth stocks such as Apple and Meta sank as investors rushed away from companies whose revenues are tied to discretionary consumer income. However, on the other side, big and small oil companies saw both their share price and revenues soar as they benefited from the growth in demand for their products as well as record high prices.2023, on the other hand, has been the exact opposite. Oil companies' revenue and share prices are coming back to Earth and big tech stocks are soaring. This trend reversal is due to the simple fact that inflation has started to come down and the U.S. economy has yet to enter a recession. The latter bit is particularly important since one of the biggest fears in the market last year was for a potential recession, which drove investors away from risky stocks in anticipation of a market downturn this year. However, aided by the hype surrounding artificial intelligence, U.S. stock indexes have set new records for their first half gains, and as we head toward the close of 2023, it appears that more positive news might be on the way.Story continuesThe latest bit on the economic front comes in the form of the Labor Department's JOLTS report and a revision to the first second quarter's GDP figures. Overall, August has been a dour month for markets as they reversed some of their gains for the year but the close of the month provided some great news. Great, at least when the stock market is concerned. The penultimate trading day of August revealed that private payrolls as measured by the ADP National Employment Report saw 177,000 jobs added in July, which was nearly 20,000 jobs lower than consensus economist estimates. At the same time, GDP growth for the second quarter was revised downward to sit at 2.1%, which showed that the economy is taking hits from the current record high interest rates. Additionally, a crucial inflationary metric, namely the price index for purchases was revised to 1.7% from an earlier 1.9% to mark a sizeable drop from the 3.8% at which it had stood during the first quarter.Markets, safe to say, were ecstatic. The S&P500 closed at 4,514 points on August 30th, erasing all of its losses since August 2nd to mark a small 1.6% drop over the month. This trend was also evident in the big tech NASDAQ 100 index, which had taken a beating earlier as jittery investors rushed to the dollar amidst worries that the Fed might raise interest rates soon.This dynamic climate leaves the opportunity open for potential turnarounds in stocks that have tanked this year. However, while we are focusing on the Fed, one investor is also considering the impact of elections on the stock market. Elections! You ask? Well, these are the midterm elections of 2022, and Mr. Fisher believes that while the first nine months after the elections, which he shares always see markets rise, are over, there might be reasons to be optimistic for the short term future as well:Election jitters will fade to a bullish tailwind.(Another bit of good news: Over 83% of presidents’ fourth years – like 2024 – have been positive, averaging 11.4%.)Which brings us to our secret sauce in the back half of any given administration: gridlock.The legislative quiet that follows midterms – whether it’s the president’s enemies who have regained control of Congress, or it’s Congress getting split between two parties – zaps uncertainty around new, controversial laws that always create winners and losers.Political squawking remains, but big bills go nowhere. Political risk aversion falls, juicing stocks.Further, most presidents shun major legislation as re-election bids near, lest they irk large swaths of voters.They use unaddressed issues as fundraising bait and campaign promises. Get me re-elected – then I’ll fix it! Politics 101.Hence, after two years of mega-spending bills, this year features mainly social and foreign policy chatter. Cluster munitions, NATO negotiations, student loan plans and replans, SCOTUS hype. Important? Maybe. Headline fodder? Yes. But nothing to rattle markets. Pundits shriek. Markets shrug.Leave it to Mr. Fisher to make politics sound not boring.So, in this dynamic environment, are there any stocks that could surprise anyone? Well, we wagered a look and some that top this list are RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX), The Joint Corp. (NASDAQ:JYNT), and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH).10 Stocks That Are About To Explodesource: pixabayOur Methodology To compile our list of stocks that are about to explode, we compile stocks that are close to their 52 week low share price levels and have seen recent insider purchases. The logic behind this goes that while the market might be pessimistic about the stocks, management and big investors aren't. The firms are ranked by the growth rate in their insider transactions over the past six months.10 Stocks That Are About To Explode10. Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFE)Change In Insider Ownership: 45.21%52-Week Low Price: $1.09Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFE) is a venture capital company that invests in technology, media, and other industries. Minority investor Thomas A. Satterfield Jr. has bought more than half a million in stock this stock since February. The lowest average price for these transactions was $1.17 while the highest price was $1.94.As of June 2023, four out of the 910 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had bought the firm's shares. Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFE)'s biggest hedge fund investor is Jon Bauer's Contrarian Capital since it owns 1.1 million shares that are worth $1.9 million.Along with The Joint Corp. (NASDAQ:JYNT), RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX), and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH), Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFE) is a stock that can potentially explode.9. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN)Change In Insider Ownership: 65.23%52-Week Low Price: $0.87Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN) is a technology company that offers advertisers a platform to run and manage their campaigns. The firm's chief executive officer Dr. Roger Kahn has been busy buying shares this year, ranging from 90 cents a share to $1.20 a share. By the end of Q2 2023, three out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database had held a stake in Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN). Out of these, the firm's largest shareholder is Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies since it owns 94,188 shares that are worth $111,000. 8. XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA)Change In Insider Ownership: 69.72%52-Week Low Price: $14.12XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA) is a biotechnology patent firm that acquires patents for products that can be commercialized. Its CEO and CIO have purchased close to $100,000 of shares since February 2023, at prices ranging between $17 and $24.After digging through 910 hedge funds for their second quarter of 2023 shareholdings, Insider Monkey discovered that ten had bought the firm's shares. XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA)'s biggest hedge fund investor is Mark Lampert's Biotechnology Value Fund / BVF Inc through a stake worth $68 million.7. Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO)Change In Insider Ownership: 83.55%52-Week Low Price: $17.51Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO) is a regional bank operating in Iowa. Several of its directors, its CFO and the president of a subsidiary have bought more than $100,000 worth of shares this year with the lowest average price being $17.80 and the highest price being $19.64.As of June 2023, six out of the 910 hedge funds researched by Insider Monkey had held a stake in Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO). Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies is the largest stakeholder among these since it owns $1.1 million worth of shares.6. 2seventy bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSVT)Change In Insider Ownership: 105.19%52-Week Low Price: $5.262seventy bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSVT) is a biotechnology firm developing cancer treatments. Its primary insider buyer this year is minority owner Kynam Capital, which has bought roughly $6.5 million in shares this year with low and high prices of $5.80 and $5.96, respectively.By the end of 2023's June quarter, 20 hedge funds out of the 910 polled by Insider Monkey had invested in the firm. 2seventy bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSVT)'s biggest investor among these is Derrick Tang's Kynam Capital courtesy of a $49 million stake.RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX), 2seventy bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSVT), The Joint Corp. (NASDAQ:JYNT), and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) are some explosive stocks.Click to continue reading and see 5 Stocks That Are About To Explode. Suggested Articles:Ken Fisher’s Top 15 Growth Stock Picks18 Best 52-Week Low Stocks To Buy Now10 Best AI Penny Stocks to Buy NowDisclosure: None. 10 Stocks That Are About To Explode is originally published on Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey

10 Stocks That Are About To Explode

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-stocks-explode-024344849.html

c42188d4-3cbb-30c4-a140-d25221ee29fc

BLK

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. TCPC has entered into an agreement with BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation BKCC, wherein BKCC will merge with and into a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of TCPC. The completion of the deal, subject to the approval of TCPC and BKCC shareholders, HSR Act approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, is expected in the first quarter of 2024.Following the merger, BlackRock TCP Capital will continue to trade under the ticker TCPC and the surviving entity will continue as a subsidiary of TCPC.Deal DetailsPer the terms of the deal, BKCC shareholders will receive newly issued shares of TCPC common stock based on the ratio of the BKCC net asset value (“NAV”) per share divided by the TCPC NAV per share, each determined shortly before closing.Thus, the merger will result in an ownership split of the combined company proportional to each of TCPC’s and BKCC’s respective NAVs.In relation to the merger, TCPC’s advisor, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. BLK, agreed to some shareholder-friendly actions, which include a reduction in the base management fee rate from 1.50% to 1.25% on assets equal to or below 200% of the NAV of TCPC, with no change to the basis of the calculation.It includes a waiver of all or a portion of its advisory fees to the extent the adjusted net investment income of TCPC on a per-share basis is less than 32 cents per share in any of the first four fiscal quarters ending after the closing of the transaction, to the extent there are sufficient advisory fees to cover such deficit; and coverage of 50% of merger transaction costs for both TCPC and BKCC, up to a combined cap of $6 million.Before the closing of the deal, TCPC and BKCC intend to maintain usual course of declaring and paying quarterly dividends and, to the extent necessary, will declare any special distributions required to distribute sufficient taxable income to continue to comply with each of its regulated investment company statuses.Following the merger, the combined company is expected to have enhanced scale and a large asset base, including total assets of $2.4 billion and net assets of $1.1 billion.Moreover, the combined company will likely have better access to capital, including the potential to access debt financing on more favorable terms.The merger is expected to drive meaningful operating synergies via the elimination or reduction of redundant expenses.The merger is expected to drive accretion of net investment income over time through reduced management fees, lower combined operating expenses and opportunities to grow the portfolio through combined leverage capacity.Story continuesManagement CommentsRajneesh Vig, the co-head of US private capital for BLK and chairman and CEO of BlackRock TCP Capital, stated, “We are very excited to announce the transaction between BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. and BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation. This is an opportune time to combine our companies. With BCIC having successfully transformed its portfolio, our investment portfolios are now closely aligned. We believe this transaction positions the combined companies for sustained growth and will create meaningful value for the shareholders of both companies.”James Keenan, the interim CEO of BlackRock Capital Investment, said, “This transaction continues our commitment to build a best-in-class platform that offers clients products and solutions to capitalize on the expanding opportunities in private debt. Over the past 20 years, BlackRock has built leading private debt capabilities to help our clients achieve their investment objectives by aligning our proven investment excellence with long-term market opportunities. This merger is a strategic next step in the growth and evolution of our business development company platform, which is an important part of our Global Private Debt business.”Over the past six months, shares of TCPC have gained 5% whereas the BKCC stock has lost 5.7% compared with the industry’s 0.4% growth.Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCurrently, TCPC and BKCC, each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and BLK carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBlackRock, Inc. (BLK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBLACKROCK TCP CAPITAL CORP. (TCPC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBlackRock Capital Investment Corporation (BKCC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

BlackRock TCP (TCPC), BlackRock Capital (BKCC) Sign Merger Deal

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-tcp-tcpc-blackrock-capital-180200752.html

be0486a8-286b-38f5-9122-944e0e938448

BLK

Traditional exchanges have opportunities in crypto beyond listing Bitcoin ETFs, including selling market data and tokenizing other assets.Continue reading

Barrons.com

It’s Not Just BlackRock. Exchanges Like Nasdaq Are Muscling in on Crypto, Too.

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/f4428a45-557a-30e0-bd75-9352a4e5e2e3/it%E2%80%99s-not-just-blackrock-.html

f4428a45-557a-30e0-bd75-9352a4e5e2e3

BLPH

Bellerophon Therapeutics (BLPH) closed at $0.68 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.93% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.45% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.99%.Heading into today, shares of the drug and medical device developer had lost 89.94% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 2.16% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.25% in that time.Investors will be hoping for strength from Bellerophon Therapeutics as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.48, down 11.63% from the prior-year quarter.Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Bellerophon Therapeutics should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 10.48% lower within the past month. Bellerophon Therapeutics is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 104, which puts it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Story continuesTo follow BLPH in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. (BLPH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Bellerophon Therapeutics (BLPH) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bellerophon-therapeutics-blph-stock-sinks-220024822.html

62fe0334-38f8-375f-8687-c6bda3b8e671

BLPH

In the latest trading session, Bellerophon Therapeutics (BLPH) closed at $0.69, marking a -1.78% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.79%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.71%.Heading into today, shares of the drug and medical device developer had lost 15.61% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 0.35% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.16% in that time.Bellerophon Therapeutics will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.39, up 9.3% from the prior-year quarter.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Bellerophon Therapeutics. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.67% higher within the past month. Bellerophon Therapeutics is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 101, putting it in the top 41% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Story continuesTo follow BLPH in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. (BLPH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Bellerophon Therapeutics (BLPH) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bellerophon-therapeutics-blph-dips-more-220021462.html

3f403bad-5897-3cb1-98ff-a66588b9f7fd

BMEA

In this piece, we will take a look at the 11 best high short interest stocks to buy now. If you want to skip our introduction to short selling and short interest, then take a look at 5 Best High Short Interest Stocks To Buy Now. Short selling is one of the most controversial practices on the stock market. As opposed to traditional investing, which sees investors buy a firm's shares in hopes of a potential share price appreciation to cash out and make a profit, short selling works in the opposite way. Simply put, it sees an investor borrow the shares of a stock, sell them on the market, and then if the share price drops, scoop them up again to return the borrowed shares and make a profit. There are other ways to short a security as well, and these include derivatives contracts that allow the investor to buy the security at a lower price and then sell it for a higher price.Naturally, the ability to profit off of somebody else's losses generates a lot of debate on the market. The detractors argue that short selling ends up negatively affecting the price of the shorted security simply because a position has been unveiled. At the same time, those in favor of short selling believe that it helps balance out the market and provides incentives to investors to root out financial impropriety or other structural weaknesses at a firm. One of the most well known investors who takes the latter viewpoint is Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway. In a 2006 interview with The Motley Fool, the famed investor commented:As you know, we have a friend who's been outspoken on naked shorting. I don't have a great problem with it. If anyone wants to do that with Berkshire, more power to 'em.Companies with a large short interest very often have been revealed as frauds or semi-frauds -- not the one my friend runs. If someone is running something semi-fraudulent, they're probably pretty good at it. It's a very tough game and tough emotionally. If you buy, it can go down 20 points or up indefinitely.Story continuesAt the same time, while short selling provides an opportunity to make hefty profits, should the underlying security's price fail to drop, then the investor is faced with what is called a short squeeze (for more on this, check out 12 Best Short Squeeze Stocks to Buy Now). A hedge fund billionaire who has been at the receiving end of a short squeeze is Stanley Druckenmiller. Mr. Druckenmiller has decades of experience on the stock market, and before he started to dedicate all of his time to his hedge fund, he worked for George Soros and managed the Quantum Fund. Mr. Druckenmiller is one of the most well known short investors of our time, and one of his most successful short plays came in 1992 when he and Mr. Soros correctly predicted that the Bank of England would be unable to defend the British Pound's value. They proceeded to short the currency and walked away with a cool $1 billion in profits. However, fate wouldn't be so kind to Mr. Druckenmiller a couple of years later in the midst of what is now known as the Dot Com bubble. This period in the stock market's history saw widespread speculation on the future of technology stocks as the Internet feverishly captured public attention.While Mr. Druckenmiller was quite astute in predicting that several technology stocks were just bubbles during this time, the timing of his decision to short the stocks of 12 companies was wrong and he ended up losing three times the money that he had actually put in his short position.He recalled the experience and shared his perspective on short selling in a recent interview where he outlined:Our shorts have been fine this year, except my index shorts which has been a disaster. But, we always short the same way. I just try and look at the current situation and then I try and think of a situation 12 to 18 months from now based on my forecast. By then if I think the security price is going to be less, then I short them. Frankly, I'm not sure I've ever made money. If I took back the last 40 years, I'm afraid to look, I've never had a down year, but I'm not sure I made money in shorts. I like it, it's fun, but you can get your head handed to you. It's a game that really only professional; and they mass against you. If you're dead wrong on a long, you can lose a hundred percent. If you're dead wrong on a short, you can lose ten times your money. When I was at Soros, I shorted $200 million worth of internet stocks in March of 99'. And in three weeks covered them at a $600 million loss. I lost $600 million on a $200 million investment in three weeks. I was short 12 stocks, they all went bankrupt. Every one of them.The shares of companies that have been sold short are called short interest and they provide a useful way to see which way the sharks of short selling are swimming. Today, we've done just this and decided to see which stocks these sharks have gathered around with the top three picks being Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W), Franchise Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRG), and Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA).11 Best High Short Interest Stocks To Buy NowImage by Gerd Altmann from PixabayOur Methodology To compile our list of the best high short interest stocks to buy we first compiled a list of 40 companies with high short interest as a percentage of their float. Then, the number of hedge funds that had bought their shares as of the second quarter of 2023 was determined through Insider Monkey's database of 910 hedge funds.11 Best High Short Interest Stocks To Buy Now11. Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP)Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2023: 20Short Interest Percentage: 27.72%Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP), as the name suggests, is a kitchen products and packaging company. It is the latest stock that is part of the meme stock mania, as the shares have appreciated by 62% over the past month. Year to date though the stock is down by 37% and is rated as Hold on average by analysts.During this year's second quarter, 20 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database had held a stake in Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP). Out of these, the firm's largest shareholder is D. E. Shaw's D E Shaw since it owns 2.1 million shares that are worth $1.7 million.Along with Franchise Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRG), Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W), and Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA), Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP) is a stock with high short interest that hedge funds are buying.10. Biomea Fusion, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMEA)Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2023: 21Short Interest Percentage: 28.48%Biomea Fusion, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMEA) is a small biotechnology company that develops cancer treatments. Its second quarter was the first among the four latest in which the firm beat analyst EPS estimates and the stock is rated Strong Buy on average.Insider Monkey took a look at 910 hedge funds for their June quarter of 2023 investments and discovered that 21 had invested in the firm. Biomea Fusion, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMEA)'s biggest hedge fund shareholder is Bihua Chen's Cormorant Asset Management through a stake worth $78 million.9. SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWTX)Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2023: 22Short Interest Percentage: 26.51%SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWTX) is a biotechnology firm whose products target cancers and other serious diseases. It is another stock that is rated Strong Buy on average by analysts, with the average share price target also penning in a nearly $23 upside.By the end of Q2 2023, 22 out of the 910 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had bought SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWTX)'s shares. Samuel Isaly's OrbiMed Advisors owns the largest stake among these, courtesy of its $109 million investment.8. bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE)Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2023: 22Short Interest Percentage: 27.20%bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) is yet another biotechnology company. Its treatments target genetic diseases. The firm's shares have been tanking this year, due to a series of bad news such as it missing the FDA's deadline for submitting licensing applications for a gene therapy.After digging through 910 hedge funds for their second quarter of 2023 shareholdings, Insider Monkey discovered that 22 had held a stake in the company. bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE)'s biggest hedge fund shareholder is Kevin C. Tang's Tang Capital Management since it owns 7.3 million shares that are worth $24 million.7. Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO)Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2023: 22Short Interest Percentage: 35.77%Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO) is an American firm that develops cancer treatments. Despite the fact that its shares are down by 33% year to date, the stock is still rated Strong Buy on average with a $13 upside based on the average share price target.Insider Monkey's June quarter of 2023 survey covering 910 hedge funds outlined that 22 had bought and invested in Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO)'s shares. Among these, the largest investor is Michael Rockefeller and Karl Kroeker's Woodline Partners through a stake worth $26.4 million.6. SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG)Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2023: 22Short Interest Percentage: 25.30%SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG) is a real estate investment trust. The fact that it makes an appearance on our list of stocks with high short interest is unsurprising since the office REIT sector has been one of the worst performers this year due to high debt and changing working patterns.22 of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had bought SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG)'s shares as of Q2 2023. Out of these, the firm's largest stakeholder is Anand Parekh's Alyeska Investment Group courtesy of a $62 million stake.Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W), SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG), Franchise Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRG), and Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) are some high short interest stocks being favored by hedge funds.Click to continue reading and see 5 Best High Short Interest Stocks To Buy Now.Suggested Articles:Jim Chanos’ 10 Short Positions in 2023Michael Burry is Shorting the Market (Again) and Selling These 10 Stocks10 Oversold Blue Chip Stocks To BuyDisclosure: None. 11 Best High Short Interest Stocks To Buy Now is originally published on Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey

11 Best High Short Interest Stocks To Buy Now

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/11-best-high-short-interest-162652176.html

c5124d80-60bf-3f57-97f8-83116ba16f74

BMEA

Biomea Fusion, Inc.Industry veteran and prominent diabetes clinical development expert to oversee Biomea’s progressing clinical development of novel covalent menin inhibitor BMF-219 in type 2 and type 1 diabetesSteve Morris, M.D., will transition to the role of Chief Development Officer, continuing to lead clinical development of Biomea’s oncology portfolio, including BMF-219, BMF-500 and research-stage assetsREDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biomea Fusion, Inc. (“Biomea”) (Nasdaq: BMEA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel covalent small molecules to treat and improve the lives of patients with genetically defined cancers and metabolic diseases, today announced the appointment of Juan Pablo Frías, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). In his new role, Dr. Frías will leverage his deep industry and clinical investigator expertise in the development of therapeutics for the management of diabetes to oversee the clinical development of BMF-219, Biomea’s novel investigational menin inhibitor, for the treatment of type 2 and type 1 diabetes. Steve Morris, M.D., will transition to the new role of Chief Development Officer (CDO), where he will continue to lead clinical development of Biomea’s oncology portfolio, including BMF-219, BMF-500 and several early-stage oncology research candidates.Dr. Frías is a board-certified endocrinologist who has served as principal investigator on over 250 clinical diabetes studies, with over half of those being Phase III studies, and has participated in the clinical development of more than 20 approved diabetic agents, including Mounjaro™ (tirzepatide’s SURPASS trials), Ozempic® (semaglutide’s STEP, SUSTAIN, and SUSTAIN FORTE trials), Trulicity® (dulaglutide’s AWARD trials), and Farxiga (dapagliflozin’s DURATION studies). Dr. Frías is a board member of the nonprofit T1D Exchange and a member of the clinical advisory boards to five of the top pharmaceutical companies in the diabetes care market. He has held leadership positions in Clinical and Medical Affairs at Eli Lilly, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, where he served as CMO and Global Vice President of Clinical and Medical Affairs, Diabetes Care. Dr. Frías has also held academic positions at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, where he currently serves on the clinical faculty. He has published over 125 articles in peer reviewed journals; his numerous publications in this field include first author publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, and Cell Metabolism.Story continues“The addition of Juan to the Biomea Leadership team is an important and exciting event for the company. Given the compelling data we have seen thus far from our ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of BMF-219 in type 2 diabetes, characterizing strong efficacy and safety in March and at American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions this year, and as we accelerate toward initiating our first study of BMF-219 in type 1 diabetes, we are working to build up our in-house expertise in diabetes clinical development. Our appointment of Juan to lead clinical development of BMF-219 in diabetes is a cornerstone of this strategy,” said Thomas Butler, CEO and Chairman of Biomea. “As a scientific advisor to Biomea for the past year, Juan’s contributions have been invaluable, and we are very excited to now welcome him as a full-time member of our leadership team as Chief Medical Officer. We will look to his deep knowledge of patient needs as well as the expansive diabetes treatment landscape to help us fully define and maximize the potential benefits BMF-219 can bring to patients with type 2 and type 1 diabetes.”Mr. Butler continued, “Concurrent to building our diabetes expertise, we will maintain our strong momentum advancing our robust oncology clinical development under the continued leadership of Steve Morris, as Chief Development Officer. Leveraging Steve’s and also now Juan’s medical and clinical development expertise in oncology and diabetes, respectively, enriches our potential to deliver breakthrough therapies, in parallel, for both of these therapeutic areas. The Biomea team continues to demonstrate strong execution of our clinical studies, which we now expect topline data of the escalation portion of COVALENT-111 in Q4; as well as additional data from COVALENT-101 in AML in Q4 of this year.”Dr. Frías commented, “After working for the past two years with Biomea and their Scientific Advisory Board, to help execute the pre-clinical work validating the MOA and design the COVALENT-111 trial, I am excited to join Biomea Fusion full-time. The preclinical and clinical work has produced initial proof of concept data showing that BMF-219 can safely and robustly produce prolonged glycemic control through revitalization of beta cell health and function. Based on the data we’ve seen over the past six months from the ongoing COVALENT-111 study, I believe Biomea has an unparalleled opportunity with BMF-219 to address diabetes at a root-cause level with a first-in-class mechanism of action that has disease modifying potential. Enabling the proliferation of a patient’s own functional beta cells makes this molecule notably unique in the expansive diabetes treatment landscape of both approved and investigational drugs. Given Biomea is a new player in this space developing a new drug class for diabetes, I think we have a significant opportunity to educate investigators and potential partners and build understanding of the transformative potential of this disease-modifying treatment. I look forward to working with Tom and the entire Biomea team as we prepare to advance this important product candidate through critical upcoming clinical development milestones for both type 2 and type 1 diabetes.”About Biomea FusionBiomea Fusion is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of covalent small molecules to treat patients with genetically defined cancers and metabolic diseases. A covalent small molecule is a synthetic compound that forms a permanent bond to its target protein and offers a number of potential advantages over conventional non-covalent drugs, including greater target selectivity, lower drug exposure, and the ability to drive a deeper, more durable response.We are utilizing our proprietary FUSION™ System to discover, design and develop a pipeline of next-generation covalent-binding small molecule medicines designed to maximize clinical benefit for patients with various cancers and metabolic diseases, including diabetes. We aim to cure.Visit us at biomeafusion.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.Forward-Looking StatementsStatements we make in this press release may include statements which are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These statements may be identified by words such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “seeks,” “will,” and variations of these words or similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any such statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the clinical and therapeutic potential of our product candidates and development programs, including BMF-219 and BMF-500, the potential of BMF-500 as an FLT3 inhibitor and as a treatment for various types of cancers, the potential of BMF-219 as a treatment for various types of cancer and diabetes, our research, development and regulatory plans, the progress of our ongoing and planned clinical trials, including COVALENT-101, COVALENT-102, COVALENT-103 and our Phase I/II COVALENT-111 study of BMF-219 in type 2 diabetes, our plans to provide clinical updates on additional data from the initial dosing cohorts in COVALENT-111, our plans to provide future data from the Phase II portion of COVALENT-111, complete dose escalation, identify optimal dose levels, initiate dose expansion, our plans to explore longer duration of treatment and additional dosage forms and our plans to explore the potential utility of BMF-219 in type 1 diabetes, and the timing of such events, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions.Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections only as of the date of this release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements, including the risk that we may encounter delays in preclinical or clinical development, the preparation, filing and clearance of INDs, patient enrollment and in the initiation, conduct and completion of our ongoing and planned clinical trials and other research and development activities. These risks concerning Biomea Fusion’s business and operations are described in additional detail in its periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including its most recent periodic report filed with the SEC and subsequent filings thereafter. Biomea Fusion explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.CONTACT: Contact: Chunyi Zhao, PhD Sr. Manager of Investor Relations & Corporate Development [email protected]

GlobeNewswire

Biomea Fusion Announces Appointment of Juan Pablo Frías, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biomea-fusion-announces-appointment-juan-123000636.html

d1233f9d-69d4-37e2-93ae-fd8847a8d58d

BMO

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation BK has partnered with payments company Trustly to launch an open banking payments solution called Bankify.Bankify brings together BNY Mellon’s transaction payments expertise and Trustly’s market-leading open banking capabilities to help organizations receive consumer payments from accounts seamlessly, with guaranteed funds for business receivables.With the help of this payments solution, clients of BNY Mellon will be in a better position to offer end-users the ability to make payments directly from their bank accounts, in contrast to using credit or debit cards and third-party payment platforms.Bankify has been developed keeping in mind all consumer-to-business payment flows like merchant payments, bill pay and account/digital wallet funding.Jennifer Barker, the global head of treasury services at BNY Mellon, stated, “Bankify moves the needle for the payments industry in both the depth of the solution and the diverse range of organizations it can support. Whether you are a merchant looking for cost-efficiencies, a biller modernizing how your customers share banking data or a brokerage firm wanting guaranteed settlement in order to offer instant use of funds during enrolment, Bankify's account linking experience and settlement guarantee are powerful tools that help an organization's top and bottom lines.”Alexandre Gontheir, the founder and CEO of Trustly, said, “The collaboration between Trustly and BNY Mellon emerged through our mutual focus on advancing the payment industry and establishing a new, alternative, open banking-based standard for consumer and business payments. We believe that consumers have the right to a financially responsible payment method and that merchants have the right to unique open banking-enabled data insights.”Bankify has been launched at a time when there are still many questions about the use of open banking.Open banking, which has been prevalent elsewhere, is slowly becoming popular in the United States. Open banking is a system that uses open application programming interfaces that allow third-party developers to build applications and services around the financial institution and let consumers dictate what data can be shared with third parties and apps.With the help of open banking, BNY Mellon will be able to bring down transaction costs.BNY Mellon has continuously been undertaking several growth initiatives, like launching new services, digitizing operations and making strategic buyouts. In 2021, the company, through its subsidiary, acquired Optimal Asset Management.BNY Mellon has been trying to gain a foothold in foreign markets. Given the huge growth potential of overseas securities markets and a rise in complex new securities, the long-term growth prospects of the industry are encouraging. The company’s international revenues are expected to continue improving as demand for personalized services rises across the globe.Over the past three months, shares of BNY Mellon have gained 0.9% against the industry’s decline of 1.5%.Story continuesZacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCurrently, BNY Mellon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Restructuring Efforts by Other Finance FirmsInteractive Brokers IBKR has unveiled a game-changing feature for Hungarian investors – Tax-Beneficial Savings (“TBSZ”) accounts. This will empower investors to make the most of their wealth-building efforts.TBSZ accounts offer Hungarian tax residents an attractive opportunity to enjoy substantial tax reductions on their investments. These accounts are designed to foster wealth accumulation and savings, featuring low account minimums and access to a diverse array of global products, including ETFs, across 150 markets.One of the standout features of IBKR’s TBSZ accounts is flexibility. Eligible investors can actively trade, explore investment opportunities across various asset classes and adjust their portfolios in response to evolving market conditions. With no limits on the amount that can be invested and the freedom to trade in any year the account is open, Hungarian investors have newfound flexibility to craft their financial strategies.Bank of Montreal BMO continues demonstrating its commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions by launching the Extend for BMO app. This empowers BMO Commercial Bank clients in the United States and Canada with enhanced payment management functionality, setting a new standard for convenience and efficiency in corporate banking.The Extend for BMO app introduces various features that empower cardholders to create and distribute virtual cards to their employees' mobile wallets. This innovation allows seamless spending wherever contactless payments are accepted, enabling businesses to manage expenses efficiently.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportThe Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportInteractive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBank Of Montreal (BMO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

BNY Mellon (BK) Launches Open Banking Payments Solution, Bankify

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bny-mellon-bk-launches-open-225900980.html

de2df812-8a24-32ec-8a16-4f9704f7f03e

BMO

CALGARY, AB, Sept. 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Team Ireland claimed the top prize at the 2023 BMO Nations' Cup – Spruce Meadows' yearly, world renowned, team show-jumping competition.Victory Claimed by Team Ireland in the 2023 BMO Nations' Cup at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ (CNW Group/BMO Financial Group)Seven of the best show-jumping teams in the world, each made up of four members (with the exception of Belgium who competed with three team members) selected by their national federations to represent their country, competed for the prestigious championship title. The course was designed by Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela and featured 12 obstacles (15 jumping efforts), covering 520 metres."BMO is delighted to return to Spruce Meadows to be a part of this exciting show-jumping event featuring the world's top equestrian riders," said Scott Brison, Vice Chair, BMO Wealth. "We are a proud long-standing sponsor of BMO Nations' Cup as it represents our continued mission to support sports in Canada and show our admiration to all of the talented athletes across the country. We'd like to congratulate Team Ireland on their victory this year, and our thanks go to Spruce Meadows, the Southern Family, and to the many fans, from Alberta and beyond, who showed their support this year."It was a great finish for Ireland, led by Chef D'Equipe Michael Blake, and riders Bertram Allen, Conor Swail, Daniel Coyle, and Denis Lynch.Final Results:IrelandGermanyCanadaGreat BritainBelgiumUSASwedenAbout Nations' CupThe BMO Nations' Cup is the only competition in which nations are represented by selected teams. Teams from participating countries may consist of three or four riders and are led by a Chef d'Equipe. Each member of each team will jump one round and the best three scores from each team are added together for a first round total.The top six teams return in reverse order of standing to jump the identical course in the second round. Again, the three best scores for each team are added to the first round total to determine the ultimate winner. In the case of equality of penalties for first place, the Chef d'Equipe selects a single team member to jump off.Story continuesAbout BMO Financial GroupBMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.25 trillion as of July 31, 2023. Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to over 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society.SOURCE BMO Financial GroupCisionView original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2023/10/c0514.html

CNW Group

Victory Claimed by Team Ireland in the 2023 BMO Nations' Cup at the Spruce Meadows 'Masters'

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/victory-claimed-team-ireland-2023-015500471.html

a6645f6b-cf2f-3fd0-87d9-e3f9da717336

BMY

Wall Street should pay attention as the pharma industry mounts a widening legal campaign against the Inflation Reduction Act.Continue reading

The Wall Street Journal

Big Pharma’s Battle With the Biden Administration Could Have Legs

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/51c47402-4c0e-39d2-9824-8ace05ff5282/big-pharma%E2%80%99s-battle-with-the.html

51c47402-4c0e-39d2-9824-8ace05ff5282

BMY

Results show 26 weeks of treatment with twice-daily 60 mg dose of BMS-986278 resulted in a 69% relative reduction in the rate of decline in percent predicted forced vital capacity versus placeboTreatment effect was consistent with or without background therapy and BMS-986278 was well tolerated, with rates of adverse events similar to placebo and low discontinuation ratesThese progressive pulmonary fibrosis findings, along with the previously reported idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis cohort results, support continued development of BMS-986278 in Phase 3 ALOFT programPRINCETON, N.J., September 09, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced results from a Phase 2 study evaluating BMS-986278, a potential first-in-class, oral, lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA1) antagonist in patients with progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF). The study showed that twice-daily administration of 60 mg of BMS-986278 over 26 weeks reduced the rate of decline in percent predicted forced vital capacity (ppFVC) by 69% compared to placebo (overall, 38% of patients in the study received background antifibrotic therapy). These data will be presented during the Abstracts Leading to Evolution in Respiratory Medicine Trials (ALERT) session 1 at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2023 International Congress held September 9-13 in Milan, Italy."People living with pulmonary fibrosis are in urgent need of new treatment options for this devastating disease, which has a median overall survival of 3-5 years," said Professor Tamera J. Corte, clinical trial investigator and Consultant Respiratory Physician and Director of Interstitial Lung Disease, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital​. "The Phase 2 progressive pulmonary fibrosis results, which demonstrate consistent efficacy with or without background antifibrotic therapy and a favorable tolerability profile, reinforce the potential of BMS-986278 and highlight advancements in the space as we race to find a potential new standard of care."Story continuesThis Phase 2 study was a global, randomized trial in which parallel cohorts of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and PPF received 30 mg or 60 mg of BMS-986278 or matched placebo orally twice-daily for 26 weeks. Stable background use of antifibrotics in the IPF cohort and/or select immunosuppressives in the PPF cohort were allowed. The primary endpoint of the study was rate of change in ppFVC from baseline to Week 26 in the IPF cohort. Rate of change in ppFVC from baseline through 26 weeks in the PPF cohort was a key secondary endpoint of the study and was assessed based on two prespecified estimands* (treatment policy estimand and while-on-treatment estimand).In the PPF cohort, treatment with 60 mg of BMS-986278 led to a 69% relative reduction in the rate of change in ppFVC versus placebo in the while-on-treatment analysis (treatment difference versus placebo 2.9%; 95% CI: 0.4, 5.5), and a 74% relative reduction versus placebo in the treatment policy analysis (3.2%; 95% CI: 0.7, 5.6). In the 30 mg group, a 42% relative reduction was observed in the while-on-treatment analysis (1.8%, 95% CI: -0.9, 4.4), and a 37% relative reduction was observed in the treatment policy analysis (1.6%; 95% CI: −1.0, 4.1). The treatment effect was consistent in the presence or absence of background antifibrotics and usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern (in the placebo, 30 mg and 60 mg groups, 41%, 38% and 36% of patients were on background antifibrotic therapy, respectively; UIP pattern was present in 51%, 55% and 50% of patients in the placebo, 30 mg and 60 mg groups, respectively).Rate of Change in ppFVC from Baseline to Week 26 in the PPF CohortPlacebo BID(n=41)30 mg BMS-986278 BID(n=39)60 mg BMS-986278 BID(n=42)Treatment policy strategyaRate of change in ppFVC,b mean−4.3−2.7−1.1Rate difference—1.63.295% CI of difference—−1.0, 4.10.7, 5.6While-on-treatment strategycRate of change in ppFVC,b mean−4.2−2.5−1.3Rate difference—1.82.995% CI of difference—−0.9, 4.40.4, 5.5aAll observed data regardless of dose reduction were included and analyzed as randomized.bLinear mixed model: ppFVC (%) = treatment + time + treatment*time + UIP pattern + exposure to antifibrotics.cAll observed data prior to dose reduction were included and analyzed as randomized; data on and after dose reduction was excluded.BID, twice-daily; CI, confidence interval; FVC, forced vital capacity; ppFVC, percent of predicted FVC.BMS-986278 was well tolerated in both treatment arms of the PPF cohort, with rates of adverse events (AEs) similar to placebo and low discontinuation rates. In the placebo, 30 mg and 60 mg arms, AEs occurred in 78%, 83% and 67% of patients, respectively, while serious AEs occurred in 32%, 10% and 12% of patients, respectively. The most frequent AEs in the placebo, 30 mg and 60 mg arms included diarrhea (15%, 15%, 7%), COVID-19 (5%, 15%, 14%), cough (10%, 8%, 12%) and dyspnea (15%, 5%, 0%). Treatment discontinuation rates due to AEs were highest in the placebo arm, occurring in 15%, 3% and 0% of patients in the placebo, 30 mg and 60 mg arms, respectively."The results from this innovative study investigating idiopathic and progressive pulmonary fibrosis give us unprecedented insights that will inform our scientific understanding of pulmonary fibrosis and the role of LPA1 inhibition," said Jonathan Sadeh, MD, MSc, senior vice president of Immunology Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. "Our industry-leading drug discovery and development capabilities and collective results from this Phase 2 study provide us the expertise and confidence to support continued development of BMS-986278 in our global Phase 3 ALOFT program in idiopathic and progressive pulmonary fibrosis."Results from the IPF cohort of the Phase 2 study were previously presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in May 2023, showing a 62% relative reduction in the rate of decline in ppFVC with 60 mg BMS-986278 versus placebo with or without background therapy. BMS-986278 will now be evaluated in the global Phase 3 ALOFT (An LPA1 antagonist for pulmonary Fibrosis Trial) program.Bristol Myers Squibb would like to thank the patients and investigators who were involved in this study.*The treatment policy estimand (similar to an Intention-to-Treat [ITT] analysis) included all observed data regardless of dose reduction and provides an estimate of efficacy with dose reduction as part of the treatment regimen. The while-on-treatment estimand included all observed data prior to dose reduction and provides an estimate of efficacy without dose reduction as part of the treatment regimen. Dose reductions occurred across all three treatment arms: placebo (n=1), 30 mg (n=6) and 60 mg (n=5) treatment arms.About BMS-986278BMS-986278 is a potential first-in-class, oral, small molecule lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA1) antagonist currently being evaluated as a novel antifibrotic treatment for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Increased LPA levels and activation of LPA1 are involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. A preclinical in vitro and in vivo study found that antagonizing LPA1 may be beneficial in treating lung injury and fibrosis.About the BMS-986278 Phase 2 StudyThis Phase 2 study was a global, randomized study in which parallel cohorts of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) received 30 mg or 60 mg of BMS-986278 or matched placebo orally twice-daily. The study consisted of a 26-week placebo-controlled treatment period, an optional 26-week active treatment extension period and a 4-week post-treatment follow-up period. Patients were permitted to take background antifibrotics in the IPF cohort and background antifibrotics and/or immunosuppressants in the PPF cohort. The primary endpoint was rate of change in percent predicted forced vital capacity (ppFVC) from baseline to Week 26 in the IPF cohort. ppFVC compares the observed FVC to that which is expected for a healthy person of the same age, gender, race and height. Rate of change in ppFVC from baseline through Week 26 in the PPF cohort was a key secondary endpoint. Patients who met prespecified blood pressure reduction criteria were to receive a dose reduction to 10 mg of BMS-986278 or matching placebo twice-daily.More information can be found on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04308681).About Pulmonary FibrosisPulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, life-threatening interstitial lung disease (ILD) that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred, impacting how lungs function. Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) is the preferred term to describe patients who have an ILD with a progressive fibrotic phenotype. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common type of progressive fibrosing ILD. As an idiopathic disease, there is no identifiable cause, and as of 2021, more than 700,000 adults are living with IPF globally.Many people living with PPF and IPF are physically impaired, experience a progressive decline in lung function, have difficulty performing simple daily activities due to breathlessness and require continuous supplemental oxygen to ease the burden of normal breathing.IPF is a fatal disease with a median survival time of 3-5 years following diagnosis and 5-year survival rate of approximately 45%; PPF has shown similar prognosis. Innovation in treatment has been limited with few new therapies approved in nearly 10 years.Bristol Myers Squibb: Pioneering Paths Forward in Immunology to Transform Patients’ LivesBristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision – transforming patients’ lives through science. For people living with immune-mediated diseases, the debilitating reality of enduring chronic symptoms and disease progression can take a toll on their physical, emotional and social well-being, making simple tasks and daily life a challenge. Driven by our deep understanding of the immune system that spans over 20 years of experience, and our passion to help patients, the company continues to pursue pathbreaking science with the goal of delivering meaningful solutions that address unmet needs in rheumatology, gastroenterology, dermatology and pulmonology. We follow the science, aiming to tailor therapies to individual needs, improve outcomes and expand treatment options by working to identify mechanisms with the potential to achieve long-term remission – and perhaps even cures – in the future. By building partnerships with researchers, patients and caregivers to deliver innovative treatments, Bristol Myers Squibb strives to elevate patient care to new standards and deliver what matters most – the promise of living a better life.About Bristol Myers SquibbBristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that future study results may not be consistent with the results to date, that BMS-986278 may not receive regulatory approval for the indication described in this release in the currently anticipated timeline or at all, that any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitation on their use, and, if approved, whether such product candidate for such indication described in this release will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb’s business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.corporatefinancial-newsView source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230908930377/en/ContactsBristol Myers SquibbMedia Inquiries: [email protected] Investors: [email protected]

Business Wire

Bristol Myers Squibb’s Investigational LPA1 Antagonist Reduces Rate of Lung Function Decline in Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis Cohort of Phase 2 Study

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bristol-myers-squibb-investigational-lpa1-220100295.html

d2266762-80ec-3a59-90b9-21b795f59f6c

BNED

ParticipantsHunter Blankenbaker; VP of IR; Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.Jonathan Shar; EVP of Retail; Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.Michael P. Huseby; Acting CFO, CEO & Director; Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.Alex Joseph Fuhrman; Senior Research Analyst; Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research DivisionRyan Michael MacDonald; Senior Analyst; Needham & Company, LLC, Research DivisionPresentationOperatorGood morning. My name is Rob, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Barnes & Noble Education Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Hunter Blankenbaker, Vice President of Investor Relations, you may begin your conference.Hunter BlankenbakerGood morning, and welcome to our fiscal 2024 first quarter earnings call. Joining us today are Mike Huseby, Chief Executive Officer; and Jonathan Shar, Executive Vice President, BNED Retail and President, Barnes & Noble College; Mike Miller, EVP, Corporate Development and Affairs and Chief Legal Officer; and Jason Snagusky, SVP and Treasurer, will also be available during the Q&A session. As referenced in our first quarter slide presentation, which can be found on our Investor Relations website, I'd like to remind you that the statements we make on today's call are covered by the safe harbor disclaimer contained in our press release and public documents. The contents of this call are the property of Barnes & Noble Education and are not for rebroadcast or used by any other party without prior written consent of Barnes & Noble Education. During this call, we will make forward-looking statements with predictions, projections and other statements about future events. These statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those contained in our press release and public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be made or discussed during this call. And now I'll turn the call over to Mike Huseby.Story continuesMichael P. HusebyThanks, Hunter. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Fiscal 2024 is off to a solid start with first quarter consolidated total revenue increasing almost 4% and adjusted EBITDA improving by approximately 22%. Our first quarter results reflect clear evidence that we are executing against our strategic initiatives to deliver profitable growth. Thanks to the focus and dedication of the BNED team, our efforts to drive operational efficiencies and cost reductions are taking hold and our First Day Complete, equitable access model continues to demonstrate strong momentum. Before providing a more detailed review of the first quarter, Jonathan and I would like to highlight how the successful execution of these 2 strategic initiatives are impacting our results. First, I'll discuss our continued focus on operational improvement and efficiency. Within our Retail segment, total sales of $245.5 million increased by $9 million or 3.8%. We achieved this growth despite operating 117 fewer stores, including 67 physical and Etsy Virtual stores versus a year ago, as we focus on winding down underperforming less profitable stores and satellite locations. Gross comparable store sales were up 5.9%, driven by strength in course materials, supply products and graduation items. This growth, combined with our disciplined cost management drove significant operating leverage. Retail, selling and administrative expense as a percent of revenue decreased by 520 basis points to 28.2% from 33.4% in the prior year period. This improvement is the direct result of our fiscal year 2023 cost restructuring activities, which yielded a $9.8 million year-over-year quarterly reduction in selling and administrative expense. Our store teams are operating with their characteristic commitment and increased focus on cost discipline to achieve these results. During our current Fall Rush, their performance has been exceptional as they continue to provide an unmatched in-store experience while implementing demanding new productivity standards tied to actively managing variable costs, including deep rigor on staffing levels, and optimizing our labor mix of full and part-time team members. Further, our teams have adapted well to make sure our stores are meeting customer needs for Fall Rush despite the later arrival of certain inventory versus prior years. As we discussed with you last quarter, we successfully closed the amend and extend of our credit facilities on July 28. These amendments provide us with the necessary financial flexibility and operating runway to actively pursue a more permanent capital structure to complete our business model transformation. However, certain vendors delayed shipping inventory until we receive and applied the liquidity enhancements provided by the amendments. Our store teams supported by MBS and our Retail shared services teams have been working nonstop to expedite receiving and present such inventory for sale to mitigate any impacts of such delays on our customers or our early rush period sales. Our second key initiative is the acceleration of our equitable access program, First Day Complete, which is one of the cornerstones of our long-term profitability growth plan. In the first quarter, First Day Complete revenue increased 55% year-over-year and First Day by Course revenue grew 27%. The growth of our First Day models drove total course material sales up by 8.4%. Now I'll turn the call over to Jonathan Shar, President of Retail, to discuss the significant impact First Day Complete is having on students, higher education and on our business.Jonathan SharThanks, Mike. It's been an exciting fall back-to-school season thus far as we now have 157 campus stores using our First Day Complete subscription-like model, representing enrollment of nearly 800,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, a 46% increase over the fall of 2022. Based upon the current pre-add/drop enrollment and participation levels, we expect FDC billings for the fall term to be up more than 46%, which will be recognized as GAAP revenue primarily in the second quarter with a smaller relative amount recognized in our third quarter of fiscal year 2024. As I visited many campus stores over the last few weeks, it's clear that FDC, our equitable access model, is having a very positive impact on the student experience, which is why FDC's acceptance in the market has such positive momentum. The marketplace reaction to FDC strongly supports our strategy and conclusion that FDC will be the primary course material distribution model in the near future. As we shared with you last quarter, based on survey results from our Barnes & Noble College Insights platform, students reported overwhelmingly that through First Day Complete, they had a better customer experience, we're better prepared, saved money and ultimately achieved improved academic success. These benefits have been on full display throughout this Fall Rush. For students, acquiring textbooks and course materials is one of the first tasks they need to accomplish at the beginning of each new academic term. First Day Complete has turned this initial (inaudible) item into a welcoming positive event through the ease of the First Day Complete process, leveraging our proprietary technology and commitment to service. As an example, and then talking of State University, which just launched FDC this fall term, a student nominated the Barnes & Noble College bookstore team for a heart of a Hornet Award which recognizes campus community members that go above and beyond in service excellence for how welcoming, quick and easy the FDC program made acquiring course materials. The way First Day Complete has transformed the student experience is striking and provides further motivation to work with all our partner institutions to accelerate their adoptions to the First Day Complete model. We believe we are best positioned to deliver on the equitable access model and continue to be the clear marketplace leader. We've invested in advanced proprietary software, such as our student-facing and personalized FDC customer platform, the Adoption and Insights portal for faculty and academic leadership and the seamless integrations we have with an institution system like registration, student information, ERPs, learning management systems and single sign-up.Additionally, MBS is a critical component of our FDC fulfillment engine with unmatched warehousing and logistics capabilities and the industry's largest single source of affordable use textbooks. Being these unique mix of assets and capabilities, coupled with our experience in executing at scale have allowed us to provide flexible and customized solutions for the colleges and universities we serve, enabling us to add a record number of schools to the First Day Complete model this fall. First Day Complete also provides economic benefit to BNED. Since inception, the First Day Complete model has delivered increased predictability, higher revenue and improved gross margins and EBITDA at a school post transition. To demonstrate this, we examined the cohort of stores that transition the First Day Complete in the fall of 2022 from the a-la-carte model in the fall of 2021. On Slide 9 of our investor presentation, you can see that when a cohort of stores move to the First Day Complete, their course material sales increased by 82% year-over-year due to the ease of the subscription-like service and the much higher sell-through rate versus the a-la-carte model. Taking this a step further, the gross profit dollars of this cohort nearly doubled, increasing by 96% and drove a 200 basis point improvement in the gross profit margin to approximately 31% from 29%. Furthermore, as schools use FDC year after year, we are able to increase student participation rates. And as a result, the gross profit dollars of First Day Complete stores in fall of 2022 that also operated FDC in the fall of 2021 increased by 5.2% in fiscal year 2023. All of this, of course, is only possible through the talent and passion of our BNED team. I'd like to recognize and thank some of our outstanding operating executives and their teams, like Brian Stark, Bill Dampier, Celeste Risimini-Johnson, Chris Sackett and others for their outstanding leadership and commitment to serving our clients and customers. It's inspiring to see our team members who are committed to our mission of serving all who work to elevate their lives through education. Now I'll turn the call back over to Mike to review our results in more detail.Michael P. HusebyThanks, Jonathan. Turning to a focus on the first quarter results and related matters. Consolidated first quarter revenue from continuing operations of $264.2 million grew by 3.7% or $9.5 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA grew by 21.8% or $7.5 million to a negative $26.8 million. As a reminder, our first quarter is a seasonally low volume period primarily consisting of summer classes, graduations and preparation for Fall Rush. Fiscal 2024 first quarter total Retail segment revenue increased by $9 million or 3.8% to $245.5 million, driven by an 8.4% increase in course material revenue and strong graduation and supply product sales. Within course material, our total First Day and First Day Complete revenues increased 37%. First quarter Retail gross profit of $50.3 million decreased by $3.7 million or 6.9%, while Retail gross margin of 20.5% decreased by 230 basis points from the prior year period. Course materials gross margin declined due to higher markdowns, including markdowns related to closed stores as well as a higher percentage of lower-margin digital course material sales. These decreases were partially offset by lower contract costs resulting from contract renewals and a favorable sales mix of higher-margin graduation products. Additionally, as noted last quarter, first quarter Retail gross margins were impacted by lower contractual commissions for emblematic general merchandise sales as part of the Fanatics and Lids partnership agreement. Effective August 1, 2023, under the terms of the July 2023 term loan credit agreement amendment, the commission rates for emblematic general merchandise increased for an estimated 1-year period. Each of these trends and margin impacts are reflected in the guidance we have provided. Retail EBITDA increased by $6.1 million to negative $18.9 million due to increased revenue, offset by a lower gross margin as noted and the $9.8 million year-over-year reduction in selling and administrative expense, I mentioned earlier. Importantly, we believe we've adjusted and will continue to adjust the cost structure of the Retail business to fundamentally change the profit profile of the business. This was evident in our lower volume first quarter, and we expect these expense reduction benefits to continue during our much higher volume second and third quarters. Moving on to Wholesale. First quarter sales increased by $1.7 million or 4.6% to $38.8 million. The increase is primarily due to higher gross sales of $5.1 million compared to the prior year period, partially offset by higher returns and allowances of $3.4 million. Wholesale gross profit was $5.8 million or 14.9% of sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $6.9 million or 18.6% of sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Gross profit and gross margin rate decreased in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, primarily due to higher product costs and an increase in the returns and allowances, partially offset by lower markdowns. First quarter Wholesale selling and administrative expenses decreased by 18% to $3.4 million. This decrease was primarily due to cost savings initiatives comprised of lower payroll and incentive plan compensation expense. Wholesale non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $2.4 million, down by $360,000 due to the lower gross margin. Moving on to the balance sheet and cash flow. Our cash balance was $7.7 million at the end of the quarter with outstanding borrowings of $278 million as compared to borrowings of $259 million in the prior year period. Cash flow used in operating activities increased due to timing of payables to vendors and increased receivables related to increased adoption of our First Day programs in the summer term. Merchandise inventories were down 17% or $79.4 million to $384.2 million versus the prior year. This reflects the delay in inventory delivery from the first quarter to the second quarter that I discussed earlier. First quarter capital expenditures decreased by $3.3 million to $4.2 million from $7.5 million due primarily to lower store build-out and internal systems spend. Regarding guidance, we're maintaining our fiscal 2024 adjusted EBITDA expectation of approximately $40 million. While the inventory delays during the first 2 weeks of Fall Rush resulted in lower sales than expected, we believe the current and expected First Day sales and our disciplined management of store payroll and other costs will limit the financial impact of the delayed inventory receipts. Before closing, I want to thank the parting board members Emily Chiu and Dan DeMatteo for their contributions to the company. We are pleased to welcome 2 new directors, Steve Panagos and Ray Wallander, to the BNED Board. Both new directors bring fresh perspectives and highly relevant experience to BNED's continued transformation, and we look forward to working closely with them. In addition, we are very pleased to have announced this morning that Kevin Watson is joining us as our new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective tomorrow. As you get to know Kevin, I'm confident you'll agree that he is a strong addition to our senior management team at a very important time in BNED's strategic transformation. In summary, we had a solid first quarter, and we're encouraged by further scaled proof points that our strategy is working. Our First Day Complete, equitable access model is having a significant positive impact on students, institutions and BNED. Our cost reduction and efficiency actions are improving profitability, and we are on the path to consistently improving adjusted EBITDA and cash flows. I want to thank our people who daily show through their actions and unwavering commitment to our mission, customers and each other. The field and operating teams that Jonathan mentioned as well as our corporate affairs and legal team under Mike Miller's senior leadership, our exceptional treasury team, led by Jason Snagusky and [Joe Loraine], and our finance and accounting teams led by Seema Paul and (inaudible) have all made significant contributions as have others that are instrumental positioning us for success this fall and beyond. We believe in our opportunity to create value for all stakeholders. Our model transformation has clearly proved that this opportunity is within our grasp at scale. What really excites us is a significant market opportunity that's still in front of us and how well positioned we are to translate that opportunity to increased and sustainable value. I'll now turn the call over to the operator to open the line for questions. Operator?Question and Answer SessionOperator(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Ryan MacDonald from Needham.Ryan Michael MacDonaldMike, maybe just to start on the clarification on the inventory delays. Can you just provide a little more color about where you were feeling that most, whether it was on the course material side around the emblematic or general merchandise side? And what, if any, knock-on effects we should expect as a result of that for the Fall Rush?Michael P. HusebyYes, Ryan, thanks. We wanted to point this out. We don't consider this to be -- have any impact on our guidance for the year, but we did want to mention it because it's probably obvious, if you look at our balance sheet at the end of July, we had a huge payables balance as we are working to complete the amend and extend, which we did on July 28, it became effective on the 31st when we got our clean opinion from our outside auditors.So there was a lot of pent-up cash that needed to be released to creditors, whether they were trade vendors, partners, whether they were publishers or in general merchandise, both. We got that done fairly quickly.And fortunately, the delay was not in the 2 largest weeks of the first 2 weeks of August, in other words, they're not the most significant start dates for Fall Rush. That starts to happen really in the third week and fourth week of August and then kind of we had Labor Day and right after like where we are right now. So to answer your question directly, our priority was making sure that we got all the course materials, vendors cleared up first. And in general, publishers reacted very swiftly and we're very helpful in terms of getting the inventory released to us. There were other categories of general merchandise that we didn't prioritize quite as highly in terms of trade, stores and convenience, and food and beverage and that type of thing. But nonetheless, we doubled all of it pretty much in the first 2 weeks of August because we want the in-store experience for the students when they come into Rush to be a complete one.So we didn't want to overplay this. I don't think this is going to have a significant impact on our Fall Rush financial results or on the year but it's something that was so obvious. We thought we had to mention it. So it's across the Board, but we only did prioritize moving in courseware and related supplies that kids needed to get back to school or students needed to get back school. And then the other categories of general merchandise were being taken care of in parallel, but we're not prioritized in terms of payments quite as highly.Ryan Michael MacDonaldAll right. I appreciate the color on that. On First Day Complete, great to see the interesting and good results there. I'm curious, as you've gone into the Fall Rush here. First, what have opt-in rates looked like amongst the student population on the newer cohort of schools that have started? And then as we think about pipeline development for spring of 2024, how that continues to develop and what you've got kind of lined up for the spring rush as well?Jonathan SharYes. Ryan, it's Jonathan. Thanks for the question. And in the First Day Complete model, there's -- just to clarify, there's sort of 2 models. One is, it's built-in tuition at certain schools where there isn't an opt-out. And then we have where it's listed as a course charge and students can opt out of those. So we don't have an opt-in model per se. It's either included or opt-out and the -- for the schools that have opt-out, the opt-out period runs through the add/drop period, which we haven't hit at many of the institutions yet, which will come up in the next few weeks.So we don't really know, although the initial view is that participation rates are strong and one of the things we're seeing is the second and third years that an institution runs First Day Complete and there's cohorts that have experienced that, that participate patient rates grow or opt-out rates decline over time. So that's an exciting sort of metric that we're tracking and something that we've seen to be positive so far this year, although we haven't hit those add/drop periods. I don't know before where we'll land, but some good trends in what we're seeing with First Day Complete is based on the overall experience and impact that it's having on the student experience and driving affordability and providing access to materials for all the students at those institutions.Ryan Michael MacDonaldAnd maybe just on the second part of that pipeline for spring of '24, how is that looking so far?Jonathan SharYes. We're in active conversation still with many schools to launch First Day Complete for spring. In fact, we have some signed amendments and agreements already in place. And then we're having still daily hundreds of conversations with schools focused on launching in the next academic year, which will be a year from now in fall of calendar 2024, which is really exciting. So those conversations are active, they have accelerated, and we're really optimistic about the continued growth of institutions participating in First Day Complete.And it's really based on the impact that we've seen on student outcomes, access, affordability and convenience.Ryan Michael MacDonaldMaybe just one more for me for Mike. I think you talked about 117 fewer stores year-over-year and doing a nice job of driving more profitable business off of -- despite sort of fewer stores. Can you give us a sense of what the runway looks like here for additional store wind-downs? And sort of how much is there left to go in terms of sort of winding down those unprofitable contracts? And when we might sort of hit the trough, I guess, of impact and start to benefit on the other side of this?Michael P. HusebyYes, it's a great question. It's something that we look at constantly. As you know, Ryan, our overall strategy is based on serving stores profitably. And we're continuing to work with stores to improve profitability. So the trough, as you call it, is really going to be dependent upon our success in converting some stores -- many stores to First Day Complete and thereby increasing the profitability, getting it at a level that's a good, long-term, healthy relationship for both us and the school.As you said, our store count was down 117 and that included 67 fiscal, 50 virtual stores versus a year ago. So that is evidence that we're following the strategy that's reflected in the results. In terms of giving you guidance on the runway and that type of thing, we're not going to do that, but we'll do it each quarter because of what I just mentioned, it's very dependent upon, and Jon said, we're engaged in a lot of conversations with school still about not just converting to First Day Complete, but the other economic terms that impact our relationship with the commission rate that we pay the schools and we're controlled doing a great job. Our field teams doing a great job of controlling the payroll.So there are different levers we can pull to achieve profitability in stores. And so how successful we are in pulling those levers, renewing contracts and making that strategy work is going to answer the question of where is the trough. I mean we expect to go to a lower number of stores next year than where we are this year. But at some point in time, as First Day Complete penetration, as I would call it, our sell-through really becomes a much higher percentage, we should start adding back to that number of stores at some point. I don't know when that's going to happen. But our expectation is that all stores will be on some form of equitable access at some point in time.OperatorYour next question comes from the line of Alex Fuhrman from Craig-Hallum Capital Group.Alex Joseph FuhrmanCan you talk a little bit about what the impact has been on general merchandise sales at schools that have transitioned the First Day Complete? Has there been any sort of a negative traffic impact just from having fewer students making that first trip to the bookstore to shop for their books? And then would love to just kind of further unpack your comments about driving really strong merchandise sales on a smaller number of bookstores. And can you just kind of help us understand what was driving that increase? Obviously, this is a seasonally slower period of the year for you, but just trying to understand what that's going to look like as we get into the rest of the year?Michael P. HusebyAlex, it's Mike. I'll make one general comment and then Jon has been spending a lot of time in our stores to right Rush and pick it up. First off, there aren't fewer students is driven to the store through First Day Complete, anything, there are more. Because most of those programs result in students coming in to pick up their First Day Complete package, of course, we're on or before the First Day. So that as opposed to more of a random who's going to show up, when, from a student perspective, it's fairly predictable in terms of store traffic, in terms of the scale of students that are showing going to pick up First Day Complete. So -- and I don't think our results having analyzed this would not indicate that we have any falloff in a general merchandise sale kind of on a per student basis as we change the model, but I'll let Jon give more details.Jonathan SharNo, that's exactly right. We're actually seeing more students come into the store post transition to First Day Complete based on the fact that we're serving nearly all of the students at that institution. And the primary sort of fulfillment channel is in-store pickup. We can ship the materials to students if they select, but most of them, from a convenience standpoint, come into the store and pick up their materials or go through the process in real time and have us pick and sort of box up their materials for them for distribution.So it's actually an opportunity through some of the merchandising strategies and cross merchandising strategies that we have to increase the sales of everything else in the store like general merchandise items that we sell to students as part of that visit. So we're actually optimistic that, that's going to have a positive impact. And just from a store traffic point alone. So we think that the model works well with the other parts of our business that we are looking to continue to drive growth in.Alex Joseph FuhrmanOkay. That's really helpful. And then just the other part of the question, just thinking about the strong merchandise sales despite the pretty significantly smaller number of stores that you were operating during the quarter. I mean, can we interpret that to mean that your biggest, most kind of long-standing profitable stores we're experiencing really strong increases in sales during the summer months? Or was it part of that maybe just driven by the fact that the 100-something stores that you're no longer operating were just pretty small contributors to merchandise?Michael P. HusebyYes, I think it's a combination of both of those. And as we called out in some of the prepared remarks, we had very strong summer, early summer first quarter in graduation products, which was somewhat of a surprise to us, quite frankly. We planned on -- we did a lot of great things in our merchandising group to make that happen. But if you recall, last year, in the spring and summer of '22, there are many schools that actually had commencement ceremonies to include more than just one graduating class because of the impacts of COVID and the fact that many schools weren't able to walk graduating classes in prior years. So even with that as a benchmark, the graduation products performed better year-over-year and much better in accordance with our expectations.So that was a big part actually of the contribution of general merchandise growth. As it relates to the other categories, we continue to see good performance, but graduation was one that really stood out for us in the first quarter. The other thing I would say is that it impacts both the digital -- kind of the digital weighting of sales and the margin and also a number of students on campus. There were many schools this year that had online virtual courses this summer more than actually the number we expected. So even with that and not having as many students on campus for the summer, our general merchandise sales did well.OperatorAnd we have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Hunter Blankenbaker for some final closing remarks.Hunter BlankenbakerGreat. Thank you, Rob. That does conclude our call, and we're going to get back to Fall Rush here. We look to -- forward to speaking with you in early December on our second quarter call. Thank you.OperatorThis concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

Thomson Reuters StreetEvents

Q1 2024 Barnes & Noble Education Inc Earnings Call

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/q1-2024-barnes-noble-education-021434371.html

63f38ca8-2f18-3f6d-90ed-31a70ba1ffd5

BNED

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript September 6, 2023Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $0.86, expectations were $0.73.Operator: Good morning. My name is Rob and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Barnes & Noble Education Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. Hunter Blankenbaker, Vice President of Investor Relations, you may begin your conference.Hunter Blankenbaker: Good morning, and welcome to our fiscal 2024 first quarter earnings call. Joining us today are Mike Huseby, Chief Executive Officer; and Jonathan Shar, Executive Vice President, BNED Retail and President, Barnes & Noble College; Mike Miller, EVP, Corporate Development & Affairs and Chief Legal Officer; and Jason Snagusky, SVP and Treasurer, will also be available during the Q&A session. As referenced in our first quarter slide presentation, which can be found on our Investor Relations website, I'd like to remind you that the statements we make on today's call are covered by the Safe Harbor disclaimer contained in our press release and public documents. The contents of this call are the property of Barnes & Noble Education and are not for rebroadcast or used by any other party without prior written consent of Barnes & Noble Education.Most Consumed Products in the WorldPixabay/Public DomainDuring this call, we will make forward-looking statements with predictions, projections and other statements about future events. These statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those contained in our press release and public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be made or discussed during this call. And now I'll turn the call over to Mike Huseby.Story continuesMichael Huseby: Thanks, Hunter. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Fiscal 2024 is off to a solid start with first quarter consolidated total revenue increasing almost 4% and adjusted EBITDA improving by approximately 22%. Our first quarter results reflect clear evidence that we are executing against our strategic initiatives to deliver profitable growth. Thanks to the focus and dedication of the BNED team, our efforts to drive operational efficiencies and cost reductions are taking hold and our First Day Complete equitable access model continues to demonstrate strong momentum. Before providing a more detailed review of the first quarter, Jonathan and I would like to highlight how the successful execution of these two strategic initiatives are impacting our results.First, I'll discuss our continued focus on operational improvement and efficiency. Within our retail segment, total sales of $245.5 million increased by $9 million or 3.8%. We achieved this growth despite operating 117 fewer stores, including 67 physical and 50 virtual stores versus a year ago, as we focus on winding down underperforming less profitable stores and satellite locations. Gross comparable store sales were up 5.9% driven by strength in course materials, supply products and graduation items. This growth combined with our disciplined cost management drove significant operating leverage. Retail, selling and administrative expense as a percent of revenue decreased by 520 basis points to 28.2% from 33.4% in the prior year period. This improvement is the direct result of our fiscal year 2023 cost restructuring activities, which yielded a $9.8 million year-over-year quarterly reduction in selling and administrative expense.Our store teams are operating with their characteristic commitment and increased focus on cost discipline to achieve these results. During our current fall rush, their performance has been exceptional as they continue to provide an unmatched in-store experience while implementing demanding new productivity standards tied to actively managing variable costs, including deep rigor on staffing levels and optimizing our labor mix of full and part-time team members. Further, our teams have adapted well to make sure our stores are meeting customer needs for fall rush despite the later arrival of certain inventory versus prior years. As we discussed with you last quarter, we successfully closed the amend and extend of our credit facilities on July 28th.These amendments provide us with the necessary financial flexibility and operating runway to actively pursue a more permanent capital structure to complete our business model transformation. However, certain vendors delayed shipping inventory until we received and applied the liquidity enhancements provided by the amendments. Our store teams supported by MBS and our retail shared services teams have been working nonstop to expedite receiving and present such inventory for sale to mitigate any impacts of such delays on our customers or our early rush period sales. Our second key initiative is the acceleration of our Equitable Access program, First Day Complete, which is one of the cornerstones of our long-term profitability growth plan. In the first quarter, First Day Complete revenue increased 55% year-over-year and First Day by course revenue grew 27%.The growth of our First Day models drove total course material sales up by 8.4%. Now I'll turn the call over to Jonathan Shar, President of Retail, to discuss the significant impact First Day Complete is having on students, higher education and on our business.Jonathan Shar: Thanks, Mike. It's been an exciting fall back-to-school season thus far as we now have a 157 campus stores using our First Day Complete subscription-like model, representing enrollment of nearly 800,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, a 46% increase over the fall of 2022. Based upon the current pre add/drop enrollment and participation levels, we expect FDC billings for the fall term to be up more than 46%, which will be recognized as GAAP revenue primarily in the second quarter with a smaller relative amount recognized in our third quarter of fiscal year 2024. As I visited many campus stores over the last few weeks, it's clear that FDC, our equitable access model, is having a very positive impact on the student experience, which is why FDC's acceptance in the market has such positive momentum.The marketplace reaction to FDC strongly supports our strategy and conclusion that FDC will be the primary course material distribution model in the near future. As we shared with you last quarter, based on survey results from our Barnes & Noble College Insights platform, students reported overwhelmingly that through First Day Complete, they had a better customer experience, we're better prepared, saved money and ultimately achieved improved academic success. These benefits have been on full display throughout this fall rush. For students, acquiring required textbooks and course materials is one of the first tasks they need to accomplish at the beginning of each new academic term. First Day Complete has turned this initial task list item into a welcoming positive event through the ease of the First Day Complete process, leveraging our proprietary technology and commitment to service.As an example, at Emporia State University, which just launched FDC this fall term, a student nominated the Barnes & Noble College bookstore team for a Heart of a Hornet award which recognizes campus community members that go above and beyond in service excellence for how welcoming quick and easy the FDC program made acquiring course materials. The way First Day Complete has transformed the student experience is striking and provides further motivation to work with all our partner institutions to accelerate their adoptions to the First Day Complete model. We believe we are best positioned to deliver on the Equitable Access Model and continue to be the clear marketplace leader. We've invested in advanced proprietary software, such as our student-facing and personalized FDC customer platform, the adoption and insights portal for faculty and academic leadership and the seamless integrations we have with an institution systems like registration, student information, ERPs, learning management systems and single sign-on.Additionally, MBS is a critical component of our FDC fulfillment engine with unmatched warehousing and logistics capabilities and the industry's largest single source of affordable use textbooks. Being these unique mix of assets and capabilities, coupled with our experience in executing at scale have allowed us to provide flexible and customized solutions for the colleges and universities we serve, enabling us to add a record number of schools to the First Day Complete model this fall. First Day Complete also provides economic benefit to BNED. Since inception, the First Day Complete model has delivered increased predictability, higher revenue and improved gross margins and EBITDA at a school post transition. To demonstrate this, we examined the cohort of stores that transition the First Day Complete in the fall of 2022 from the a-la-carte model in the fall of 2021.On slide nine of our investor presentation, you can see that when a cohort of stores move to the First Day Complete, their course material sales increased by 82% year-over-year due to the ease of the subscription-like service and the much higher sell-through rate versus the a-la-carte model. Taking this a step further, the gross profit dollars of this cohort nearly doubled, increasing by 96% and drove a 200 basis point improvement in the gross profit margin to approximately 31% from 29%. Furthermore, as schools use FDC year after year, we are able to increase student participation rates. And as a result, the gross profit dollars of First Day Complete stores in fall of 2022 that also operated FDC in the fall of 2021 increased by 5.2% in fiscal year 2023.All this, of course, is only possible through the talent and passion of our BNED team. I'd like to recognize and thank some of our outstanding operating executives and their teams, like Brian Stark, Bill Dampier, Celeste Risimini-Johnson, Chris Sackett and others for their outstanding leadership and commitment to serving our clients and customers. It's inspiring to see our team members who are committed to our mission of serving all who work to elevate their lives through education. Now I'll turn the call back over to Mike to review our results in more detail.Michael Huseby: Thanks, Jonathan. Turning to a focus on the first quarter results and related matters. Consolidated first quarter revenue from continuing operations of $264.2 million grew by 3.7% or $9.5 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA grew by 21.8% or $7.5 million to a negative $26.8 million. As a reminder, our first quarter is a seasonally low volume period primarily consisting of summer classes, graduations and preparation for fall rush. Fiscal 2024 first quarter total retail segment revenue increased by $9 million or 3.8% to $245.5 million driven by an 8.4% increase in course material revenue and strong graduation and supply product sales. Within course material, our total First Day and First Day Complete revenues increased 37%.First quarter retail gross profit of $50.3 million decreased by $3.7 million or 6.9%, while retail gross margin of 20.5% decreased by 230 basis points from the prior year period. Course materials gross margin declined due to higher markdowns, including markdowns related to closed stores as well as a higher percentage of lower-margin digital course material sales. These decreases were partially offset by lower contract costs resulting from contract renewals and a favorable sales mix of higher margin graduation products. Additionally, as noted last quarter, first quarter retail gross margins were impacted by lower contractual commissions for emblematic general merchandise sales as part of the Fanatics and Lids partnership agreement. Effective August 1, 2023, under the terms of the July 2023 term loan credit agreement amendment, the commission rates for emblematic general merchandise increased for an estimated one year period.Each of these trends and margin impacts are reflected in the guidance we have provided. Retail EBITDA increased by $6.1 million to negative $18.9 million due to increased revenue, offset by a lower gross margin as noted and the $9.8 million year-over-year reduction in selling and administrative expense I mentioned earlier. Importantly, we believe we've adjusted and will continue to adjust the cost structure of the retail business to fundamentally change the profit profile of the business. This was evident in our lower volume first quarter, and we expect these expense reduction benefits to continue during our much higher volume second and third quarters. Moving onto wholesale. First quarter sales increased by $1.7 million or 4.6% to $38.8 million.The increase is primarily due to higher gross sales of $5.1 million compared to the prior year period partially offset by higher returns and allowances of $3.4 million. Wholesale gross profit was $5.8 million or 14.9% of sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $6.9 million or 18.6% of sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Gross profit and gross margin rate decreased in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, primarily due to higher product costs and an increase in the returns and allowances, partially offset by lower markdowns. First quarter wholesale selling and administrative expenses decreased by 18% to $3.4 million. This decrease was primarily due to cost savings initiatives comprised of lower payroll and incentive plan compensation expense.Wholesale non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $2.4 million, down by $360,000 due to the lower gross margin. Moving onto the balance sheet and cash flow. Our cash balance was $7.7 million at the end of the quarter with outstanding borrowings of $278 million as compared to borrowings of $259 million in the prior year period. Cash flow used in operating activities increased due to timing of payables to vendors and increased receivables related to increased adoption of our First Day programs in the summer term. Merchandise inventories were down 17% or $79.4 million to $384.2 million versus the prior year. This reflects the delay in inventory delivery from the first quarter to the second quarter that I discussed earlier. First quarter capital expenditures decreased by $3.3 million to $4.2 million from $7.5 million due primarily to lower store build-out and internal systems spend.Regarding guidance, we're maintaining our fiscal 2024 adjusted EBITDA expectation of approximately $40 million. While the inventory delays during the first two weeks of fall rush resulted in lower sales than expected, we believe the current and expected First Day sales and our disciplined management of store payroll and other costs will limit the financial impact of the delayed inventory receipts. Before closing, I want to thank departing board members Emily Chiu and Dan DeMatteo for their contributions to the company. We are pleased to welcome two new directors Steve Panagos and Ray Wallander to the BNED Board. Both new directors bring fresh perspectives and highly relevant experience to BNED's continued transformation and we look forward to working closely with them.In addition, we are very pleased to announce this morning that Kevin Watson is joining us as our new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective tomorrow. As you get to know, Kevin, I'm confident you'll agree that he has a strong addition to our senior management team at a very important time in BNED's strategic transformation. In summary, we had a solid first quarter, and we're encouraged by further scaled proof points that our strategy is working. Our First Day Complete equitable access model is having a significant positive impact on students, institutions and BNED. Our cost reduction and efficiency actions are improving profitability and we are on the path to consistently improving adjusted EBITDA and cash flows. I want to thank our people who daily show through their actions and unwavering commitment to our mission, customers and each other.The field and operating teams that Jonathan mentioned as well as our corporate affairs and legal team under Mike Miller's senior leadership. Our exceptional treasury team, led by Jason Snagusky and Joe Loraine and our finance and accounting teams led by Seema Paul and [indiscernible] have all made significant contributions as have others that are instrumental positioning us for success this fall and beyond. We believe in our opportunity to create value for all stakeholders. Our model transformation has clearly proved that this opportunity is within our grasp at scale. What really excites us is a significant market opportunity that's still in front of us and how well positioned we are to translate that opportunity to increase and sustainable value.I'll now turn the call over to the operator to open the line for questions. Operator?See also 30 Friendliest Cities in America and 10 Biggest Social Media Companies In Asia.Q&A SessionOperator: [Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from the line of Ryan MacDonald from Needham. Your line is open.Ryan MacDonald: Hi. Thanks for taking my questions. Mike maybe just to start on the clarification on the inventory delays. Can you just provide a little more color about where you were feeling that most, whether it was on the course material side around the emblematic or general merchandise side? And what, if any, knock-on effects we should expect as a result of that for the fall rush?Michael Huseby: Yes, Ryan, thanks. We wanted to point this out. We don't consider this to be -- have any impact on our guidance for the year, but we did want to mention it because it's probably obvious, if you look at our balance sheet at the end of July, we had a huge payables balance as we are working to complete the amend and extend, which we did on July 28th, it became effective on the 31st when we got our clean opinion from our outside auditors. So there was a lot of pent-up cash that needed to be released to creditors, whether they were trade vendors, partners, whether they were publishers or in general merchandise both. We got that done fairly quickly. And fortunately, the delay was not in the two largest weeks of the first two weeks of August, in other words, they're not the most significant start dates for fall rush.That starts to happen really in the third week and fourth week of August and then you know guys that we have Labor Day and right after like where we are right now. So to answer your question directly, our priority was making sure that we got all the course materials vendors cleared up first. And in general, publishers reacted very swiftly and we're very helpful in terms of getting the inventory released to us. There were other categories of general merchandise that we didn't prioritize quite as highly in terms of trade stores and convenience and food and beverage and that type of thing. But nonetheless we doubled all of it pretty much in the first two weeks of August because we want the in-store experience for the students when they come into a rush to be a complete one.So we didn't want to overplay this. I don't think this is going to have a significant impact on our fall rush financial results or on the year but it's something that was so obvious. We thought we had to mention it. So it's across the board, but we did prioritize moving in courseware and related supplies that kids needed to get back to school or students need to get back to school. And then the other categories of general merchandise, we're being taken care of in parallel, but we're not prioritized in terms of payments quite as highly.Ryan MacDonald: All right. I appreciate the color on that. On First Day Complete, great to see the interesting and good results there. I'm curious, as you've gone into the fall rush here. First, what have opt-in rates looked like amongst the student population on the newer cohort of schools that have started? And then as we think about pipeline development for spring of 2024, how that continues to develop and what you've got kind of lined up for the spring rush as well? Thanks.Jonathan Shar: Yes. Ryan, it's Jonathan. Thanks for the question. And in the First Day Complete model, there's, just to clarify, there's sort of two models. One is it's built into tuition at certain schools where there isn't an opt-out. And then we have where it's listed as a course charge and students can opt=out of those. So we don't have an opt-in model per se. It's either included or opt-out -- and the -- for the schools that have opt-out, the opt-out period runs through the add/drop period, which we haven't hit at many of the institutions yet, which will come up in the next few weeks. So we don't really know, although the initial view is that participation rates are strong and one of the things we're seeing is the second and third years that an institution runs First Day Complete and there's cohorts that have experienced that, that participate patient rates grow or opt-out rates decline over time.So that's an exciting sort of metric that we're tracking and something that we've seen to be positive so far this year, although we haven't hit those add/drop periods, I don't know for sure where it will land, but some good trends in what we're seeing with First Day Complete is based on the overall experience and impact that it's having on the student experience and driving affordability and providing access to materials for all the students at those institutions.Ryan MacDonald: And maybe just on the second part of that pipeline for spring of '24, how is that looking so far?Jonathan Shar: Yes. We're in active conversation still with many schools to launch First Day Complete for spring. In fact, we have some signed amendments and agreements already in place. And then we're having still daily hundreds of conversations with schools focused on launching in the next academic year, which will be a year from now in fall of calendar 2024, which is really exciting. So those conversations are active. They have accelerated and we're really optimistic about the continued growth of institutions participating in First Day Complete. And it's really based on the impact that we've seen on student outcomes, access, affordability and convenience.Ryan MacDonald: Excellent. Maybe just one more for me for Mike. I think you talked about 117 fewer stores year-over-year and doing a nice job of driving more profitable business off of -- despite sort of fewer stores. Can you give us a sense of what the runway looks like here for additional store wind-downs? And sort of how much is there left to go in terms of sort of winding down those unprofitable contracts? And when we might sort of hit the trough, I guess, of impact and start to benefit on the other side of this? Thanks.Michael Huseby: Yes, it's a great question. It's something that we look at constantly. As you know, Ryan, our overall strategy is based on serving stores profitably. And we're continuing to work with stores to improve profitability. So the trough, as you call it, is really going to be dependent upon our success in converting some stores, many stores to First Day Complete and thereby increasing the profitability, getting it at a level that's a good, long-term, healthy relationship for both us and the school. As you said, our store count was down 117 and that included 67 fiscal 50 virtual stores versus a year ago. So that is evidence that we're following the strategy that's reflected in the results. In terms of giving you guidance on the runway and that type of thing, we're not going to do that, but we'll do it each quarter because of what I just mentioned, it's very dependent upon, and Jon said, as Jon said, we're engaged in a lot of conversations with school still about not just converting to First Day Complete, but the other economic terms that impact our relationship with the commission rate that we pay the schools and we're controlled doing a great job.Our field teams doing a great job of controlling the payroll. So there are different levers we can pull to achieve profitability in stores. And so how successful we are in pulling those levers renewing contracts and making that strategy work is going to answer the question of where is the trough. I mean we expect to go to a lower number of stores next year than where we are this year. But at some point in time, as First Day Complete penetration, as I would call it, our sell-through really becomes a much higher percentage we should start adding back to that number stores at some point. I don't know when that's going to happen. But our expectation is that all stores will be on some form of equitable access at some point in time.Ryan MacDonald: Thanks for taking my questions. I'll hop back in the queue.Michael Huseby: Thanks, Ryan.Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Alex Fuhrman from Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Your line is open.Alex Fuhrman: Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question. Can you talk a little bit about what the impact has been on general merchandise sales at schools that have transitioned the First Day Complete. Has there been any sort of a negative traffic impact just from having fewer students making that first trip to the bookstore to shop for their books? And then would love to just kind of further unpack your comments about driving really strong merchandise sales on a smaller number of bookstores? And can you just kind of help us understand what was driving that increase? Obviously, this is a seasonally slower period of the year for you, but just trying to understand what that's going to look like as we get into the rest of the year?Michael Huseby: Alex, it's Mike. I'll make one general comment and then Jon has been spending a lot of time in our stores during rush can pick it up. First off, there aren't fewer students driven to the store through First Day Complete, if anything, there are more. Because most of those programs result in students coming in to pick up their First Day Complete package, of course, we're on or before the First Day. So that as opposed to more of a random who's going to show up when from a student perspective, it's fairly predictable in terms of store traffic, in terms of the scale of students that are showing up to pick up First Day Complete. So and I don't think our results having analyzed this would not indicate that we have any falloff in a general merchandise sale kind of on a per student basis as we change the model then I'll let Jon give more details.Jonathan Shar: No, that's exactly right. We're actually seeing more students come into the store post transition to First Day Complete based on the fact that we're serving nearly all of the students at that institution. And the primary sort of fulfillment channel is in-store pickup. We can ship the materials to students if they select, but most of them from a convenience standpoint come into the store and pick up their materials or go through the process in real time and have us pick them and sort of box up their materials for them for distribution. So it's actually an opportunity through some of the merchandising strategies and cross merchandising strategies that we have to increase the sales of everything else in the store like general merchandise items that we sell to students as part of that visit.So we're actually optimistic that, that's going to have a positive impact. And just from a store traffic point alone. So we think that the model works well with the other parts of our business that we are looking to continue to drive growth in.Alex Fuhrman: Okay. That's really helpful. And then just the other part of the question, just thinking about the strong merchandise sales despite the pretty significantly smaller number of stores that you were operating during the quarter. I mean can we interpret that to mean that your biggest, most kind of long-standing profitable stores we're experiencing really strong increases in sales during the summer months or was it part of that maybe just driven by the fact that the 100 something stores that you're no longer operating were just pretty small contributors to merchandise?Michael Huseby: Yes, I think it's a combination of both of those. And as we called out in some of the prepared remarks, we had very strong summer, early summer first quarter in graduation products, which was somewhat of a surprise to us, quite frankly, we planned on. We did a lot of great things in our merchandising group to make that happen. But if you recall last year in the spring and summer of '22. There are many schools that actually had commencement ceremonies to include more than just one graduating class because of the impacts of COVID and the fact that many schools weren't able to walk graduating classes in prior years. So even with that as a benchmark, the graduation products performed better year-over-year and much better and of course with our expectations.So that was a big part actually of the contribution of general merchandise growth. As it relates to the other categories, we continue to see good performance, but graduation was one that really stood out for us in the first quarter. The other thing I would say is that it impacts both the digital kind of the digital weighting of sales and the margin and also a number of students on campus. There were many schools this year that had online virtual courses this summer more than actually in the number we expected. So even with that and not having as many students on campus for the summer, general merchandise sales did well.Alex Fuhrman: Okay. That's really helpful. Thank you.Operator: And we have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Hunter Blankenbaker for some final closing remarks.Hunter Blankenbaker: Great. Thank you, Rob. That does conclude our call and we're going to get back to Fall Rush here. We look to -- forward to speaking with you in early December on our second quarter call. Thank you.Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

Insider Monkey

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/barnes-noble-education-inc-nyse-121650907.html

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 26, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Beachbody Company, Inc. (NYSE: BODY) ("BODi" or the "Company"), a leading subscription health and wellness company, today announced that it has amended certain financial covenants (and other terms) of its $50 million term loan with Blue Torch Capital."We felt it was appropriate to amend the terms of our revenue covenant with Blue Torch Capital to better align the loan with our profit and free cash flow objectives. The amendments reduce the revenue minimum to quarterly revenue of $100 million for each quarter through March 31, 2024, then to $120 million for each quarter thereafter. These changes reflect the Company’s focus on becoming cashflow positive", said Carl Daikeler, BODi’s Co-Founder and CEO."Our new business model is driven by our turnaround plan, which is about maximizing profitability and cash-generation from our multiple revenue streams versus growth at all costs. We are committed to creating a revenue mix with higher profitability channels that produce increases in cash as a priority. The Blue Torch team has been great to work with while amending the terms of our agreement to reflect their support of these objectives," said Mark Goldston, BODi’s Executive Chairman."Given our existing cash position and progress over the past 6 quarters, we agreed to prepay $15 million of the term loan’s principal and increase the minimum liquidity amount to $20 million through March 31, 2024, and then to $25 million thereafter," said Marc Suidan, BODi’s CFO. "We believe the net result is a very positive development. The amendments align with building a profitable and sustainable business and provide us with the flexibility to put our turnaround plan into place to focus on cash generation."About BODi and The Beachbody Company, Inc.Known as Beachbody for 24 years with innovations such as P90X, Insanity, 21 Day Fix and Shakeology, BODi is headquartered in Southern California. BODi is the leader in the category of Health Esteem, which combines digital fitness, nutrition, and mindset content with exceptional supplements and a supportive community of millions of people supporting each other to live a great life while they pursue their health and weight loss goals. The Beachbody Company, Inc. is the parent company of BODi. For more information, please visit TheBeachbodyCompany.com.Story continuesForward-Looking StatementsThis press release of The Beachbody Company, Inc. ("we," "us," "our," and similar terms) contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are statements other than statements of historical facts and statements in future tense. These statements include but are not limited to, statements regarding our future performance and our market opportunity, including expected financial results, our business strategy, our plans, and our objectives and future operations.Forward-looking statements are based upon various estimates and assumptions, as well as information known to us as of the date hereof, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially due to a variety of factors, including: our ability to effectively compete in the fitness and nutrition industries; our ability to successfully drive growth in our existing operations; our ability to successfully acquire and integrate new operations; our reliance on a few key products; our ability to manage costs with our existing and future operations; market conditions and global and economic factors beyond our control; intense competition and competitive pressures from other companies worldwide in the industries in which we operate; litigation; and the ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights. You can identify these statements by the use of terminology such as "believe", "plan", "expect", "will", "should," "could", "estimate", "anticipate," "becoming" or similar forward-looking terms. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as they involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially from the forward-looking statements. For more information regarding the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to our business in general, we refer you to the "Risk Factors" section of our Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including those risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023 and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, which are available on the Investor Relations page of our website at https://investors.thebeachbodycompany.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.All forward-looking statements contained herein are based on information available to us as of the date hereof and you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230726615853/en/ContactsInvestor Relations ICR, [email protected]

Business Wire

The Beachbody Company, Inc. Announces Amendments to its Term Loan to Align with Building a Profitable and Sustainable Business

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/beachbody-company-inc-announces-amendments-224800171.html

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Delivered Second Quarter Revenue Ahead of the Midpoint of GuidanceNet Loss and Adjusted EBITDA Ahead of GuidanceImproved Second Quarter Operating Expenses by 19% YoYAmended Blue Torch Capital Financing AgreementEL SEGUNDO, Calif., August 08, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Beachbody Company, Inc. (NYSE: BODY) ("BODi" or the "Company"), a leading subscription health and wellness company, today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2023."We are encouraged by our performance in the second quarter and the progress made towards our company transformation. To that end, I am pleased that Mark Goldston has joined the company as Executive Chairman to work with us to execute on the significant opportunities in front of us. Mark has been running public companies for decades with a focus on turnarounds and we have already benefited from his expertise," said Carl Daikeler, BODi’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. " We have restructured the financial covenants in our financing agreement and paid down our debt level by $15 million to approximately $35 million, which reduces our interest expense and gives additional flexibility to execute on our strategies and to develop profitable revenue streams that generate healthy cash-flows. Also, from a cash standpoint, given our third quarter guidance range, we plan on using less than $5 million in cash from operations as we continue to improve our margins and cost structure. We are excited about the trajectory of BODi’s transformation and are proud of our team’s hard work to get us where we are today. "Second Quarter 2023 ResultsTotal revenue was $134.9 million compared to $179.1 million in the prior year period.Digital revenue was $65.2 million compared to $78.0 million in the prior year period and digital subscriptions totaled 1.53 million in the second quarter.Nutrition and Other revenue was $64.6 million compared to $90.5 million in the prior year period and nutritional subscriptions totaled 0.20 million in the second quarter.Connected Fitness revenue was $5.1 million compared to $10.6 million in the prior year period and approximately 5,500 bikes were delivered in the second quarter.Total operating expenses was $106.9 million compared to $131.7 million in the prior year period.Operating loss improved by $20.2 million to $24.2 million compared to an operating loss of $44.4 million in the prior year period.Net loss was $25.7 million compared to a net loss of $41.9 million in the prior year period.Adjusted EBITDA1 was $(4.8) million compared to $(1.5) million in the prior year period.Cash used in operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was $14.4 million compared to $33.3 million in the prior year period, and cash used in investing activities was $5.0 million compared to $19.2 million in the prior year period. Total cash used in operating and investing activities was $19.4 million compared to $52.5 million in the prior year period.Story continuesKey Operational and Business MetricsFor the Three Months Ended June 30,For the Six Months Ended June 30,20232022Change v 202220232022Change v 2022Digital Subscriptions (in millions)1.532.28(32.9%)1.532.28(32.9%)Nutritional Subscriptions (in millions)0.200.28(28.6%)0.200.28(28.6%)Total Subscriptions1.732.56(32.4%)1.732.56(32.4%)Average Digital Retention95.2%95.6%(40bps)95.5%95.6%(10bps)Total Streams (in millions)25.331.0(18.4%)55.069.2(20.5%)DAU/MAU31.6%30.0%160bps32.1%31.6%50bpsConnected Fitness Units Delivered (in thousands)5.58.8(37.5%)10.225.4(59.8%)Digital$65.2$78.0(16.4%)$130.0$159.8(18.6%)Nutrition & Other$64.6$90.5(28.6%)$138.7$188.2(26.3%)Connected Fitness$5.1$10.6(51.9%)$11.1$30.1(63.1%)Revenue (in millions)$134.9$179.1(24.7%)$279.8$378.1(26.0%)Net Income/(Loss) (in millions)$(25.7)$(41.9)38.7%$(54.9)$(115.4)52.4%Adjusted EBITDA (in millions)$(4.8)$(1.5)(220.0%)$(5.7)$(20.6)72.3%Outlook for The Third Quarter of 2023Outlook For Quarter Ending September 30, 2023(in millions)Revenue$120$130Net Loss$(32)$(27)Adjustments:Depreciation and Amortization$11$11Amortization of Content Development Assets$5$5Interest Expense$2$2Equity-Based Compensation$4$4Other Adjustment Items$1$1Total Adjustments$24$24Adjusted EBITDA$(8)$(3)1 A definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation to net loss is at the end of this release.Conference Call and Webcast InformationBODi will host a conference call at 5:00pm ET on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, to discuss its financial results and matters other than past results, such as guidance. To participate in the live call, please dial (833) 470-1428 (U.S. & Canada), or +1 (404) 975-4839 (all other locations) and provide the conference identification number: 491322. The conference call will also be available to interested parties through a live webcast at https://investors.thebeachbodycompany.com/.A replay of the call will be available until August 15, 2023, by dialing (866) 813-9403 (U.S & Canada), or +1 (929) 458-6194 (all other locations). The replay passcode is 707956.After the conference call, a webcast replay will remain available on the investor relations section of the Company’s website for one year.About BODi and The Beachbody Company, Inc.Headquartered in Southern California, BODi is a leading digital fitness, nutrition, and mindset subscription company with over two decades of creating innovative content and nutritional supplements designed to support and enrich strong Health Esteem. The Beachbody Company, Inc. is the parent company of BODi. For more information, please visit TheBeachbodyCompany.com.Safe Harbor StatementThis press release of The Beachbody Company, Inc. ("we," "us," "our," and similar terms) contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are statements other than statements of historical facts and statements in future tense. These statements include but are not limited to, statements regarding our future performance and our market opportunity, including expected financial results for the second quarter and full year, our business strategy, our plans, and our objectives and future operations.Forward-looking statements are based upon various estimates and assumptions, as well as information known to us as of the date hereof, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially due to a variety of factors, including: our ability to effectively compete in the fitness and nutrition industries; our ability to successfully acquire and integrate new operations; our reliance on a few key products; our ability to manage costs with our existing and future operations; market conditions and global and economic factors beyond our control; intense competition and competitive pressures from other companies worldwide in the industries in which we operate; and litigation and the ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights. You can identify these statements by the use of terminology such as "believe", "plans", "expect", "will", "should," "could", "estimate", "anticipate" or similar forward-looking terms. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as they involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially from the forward-looking statements. For more information regarding the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to our business in general, we refer you to the "Risk Factors" section of our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including those risks and uncertainties included in the Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023 and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, which are available on the Investor Relations page of our website at https://investors.thebeachbodycompany.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.All forward-looking statements contained herein are based on information available to us as of the date hereof and you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.The Beachbody Company, Inc.Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets(in thousands, except share and per share data)June 30,December 31,20232022(unaudited)AssetsCurrent assets:Cash and cash equivalents$58,686$80,091Inventory, net43,36454,060Prepaid expenses8,54913,055Other current assets48,61939,248Total current assets159,218186,454Property and equipment, net58,20574,147Content assets, net29,19334,888Goodwill125,166125,166Intangible assets, net5,6488,204Right-of-use assets, net4,0335,030Other assets9,6619,506Total assets$391,124$443,395Liabilities and Stockholders’ EquityCurrent liabilities:Accounts payable$13,301$17,940Accrued expenses49,11664,430Deferred revenue107,37895,587Current portion of lease liabilities2,0952,150Current portion of Term Loan16,2501,250Other current liabilities3,3563,283Total current liabilities191,496184,640Term Loan25,83639,735Long-term lease liabilities, net2,2493,318Deferred tax liabilities137181Other liabilities4,2293,979Total liabilities223,947231,853Stockholders’ equity:Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 sharesauthorized, none issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023and December 31, 2022——Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,900,000,000 sharesauthorized (1,600,000,000 Class A, 200,000,000 Class X and100,000,000 Class C);Class A: 176,157,734 and 170,911,819 shares issued andoutstanding at June 30, 2023 and December 31,2022, respectively;1817Class X: 136,450,256 and 141,250,310 shares issued and outstanding atJune 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively;1414Class C: no shares issued and outstanding atJune 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022——Additional paid-in capital641,649630,709Accumulated deficit(474,171)(419,235)Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)(333)37Total stockholders’ equity167,177211,542Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$391,124$443,395The Beachbody Company, Inc.Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations(in thousands, except per share data)Three months ended June 30,Six months ended June 30,2023202220232022Revenue:Digital$65,214$78,015$129,987$159,760Nutrition and other64,62890,516138,748188,180Connected fitness5,10610,60511,11430,118Total revenue134,948179,136279,849378,058Cost of revenue:Digital16,33618,40631,30334,831Nutrition and other27,20242,00258,24186,776Connected fitness8,66631,45916,22176,165Total cost of revenue52,20491,867105,765197,772Gross profit82,74487,269174,084180,286Operating expenses:Selling and marketing76,49286,624153,068193,068Enterprise technology and development18,65024,13337,74657,830General and administrative11,88719,58429,60339,657Restructuring(107)1,3325,2808,555Total operating expenses106,922131,673225,697299,110Operating loss(24,178)(44,404)(51,613)(118,824)Other income (expense):Change in fair value of warrant liabilities3752,0704322,334Interest expense(2,368)(3)(4,699)(22)Other income, net411189980125Loss before income taxes(25,760)(42,148)(54,900)(116,387)Income tax (provision) benefit12281(36)987Net loss$(25,748)$(41,867)$(54,936)$(115,400)Net loss per common share, basic and diluted$(0.08)$(0.14)$(0.18)$(0.38)Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted314,312307,205311,740306,786The Beachbody Company, Inc.Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows(in thousands)Six months ended June 30,20232022Cash flows from operating activities:Net loss$(54,936)$(115,400)Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:Depreciation and amortization expense21,63241,552Amortization of content assets11,02013,180Provision for inventory and inventory purchase commitments5,07232,019Realized (gains) losses on hedging derivative financial instruments(26)143Change in fair value of warrant liabilities(432)(2,334)Equity-based compensation12,7167,565Deferred income taxes(121)(1,143)Amortization of debt issuance costs980—Paid-in-kind interest expense746—Other non-cash items—311Changes in operating assets and liabilities:Inventory6,03728,400Content assets(5,325)(11,940)Prepaid expenses4,5065,545Other assets(8,912)167Accounts payable(4,179)(22,753)Accrued expenses(14,356)(7,739)Deferred revenue12,2211,000Other liabilities(1,010)(1,829)Net cash used in operating activities(14,367)(33,256)Cash flows from investing activities:Purchase of property and equipment(5,030)(19,222)Net cash used in investing activities(5,030)(19,222)Cash flows from financing activities:Proceeds from exercise of stock options—2,968Remittance of taxes withheld from employee stock awards—(308)Debt repayments(625)—Proceeds from issuance of common shares in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan384—Tax withholding payments for vesting of restricted stock(2,159)—Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities(2,400)2,660Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents392(176)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents(21,405)(49,994)Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period80,091107,054Cash and cash equivalents, end of period$58,686$57,060Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:Cash paid during the period for interest$2,958$17Cash (received) paid during the period for income taxes, net(46)310Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing activities:Property and equipment acquired but not yet paid for$128$2,330The Beachbody Company, Inc.Adjusted EBITDAIn addition to our results determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, we believe the following non-GAAP financial measure of Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating our operating performance.We define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted for depreciation and amortization, amortization of capitalized cloud computing implementation costs, amortization of content assets, interest expense, income taxes, equity-based compensation, inventory net realizable value adjustments, restructuring, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, and other items that are not normal, recurring, operating expenses necessary to operate the Company’s business.The presentation of this non-GAAP financial measure is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation of our non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP net income (loss) can be found below:Three months ended June 30,Six months ended June 30,(in thousands)2023202220232022Net loss$(25,748)$(41,867)$(54,936)$(115,400)Adjusted for:Depreciation and amortization10,91919,96521,63241,552Amortization of capitalized cloud computing implementation costs4016881336Amortization of content assets5,4597,01611,02013,180Interest expense2,36834,69922Income tax provision (benefit)(12)(281)36(987)Equity-based compensation3,1613,00112,7167,565Employee incentives, expected to be settled in equity (1)——(5,466)—Inventory net realizable value adjustment (2)—10,502—25,436Restructuring and platform consolidation costs (3)(107)2,0865,9529,973Change in fair value of warrant liabilities(375)(2,070)(432)(2,334)Non-operating (4)(479)5(963)78Adjusted EBITDA$(4,774)$(1,472)$(5,661)$(20,579)1 The non-cash charge for employee incentives which were expected to be settled in equity was recorded and included in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation during the year ended December 31, 2022. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, we reclassified the non-cash charge from employee incentives expected to be settled in equity to equity-based compensation because we settled certain employee incentives with RSU awards during the period.2 Represents a non-cash expense to reduce the carrying value of our connected fitness inventory and related future commitments. This adjustment was included during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, because of its unusual magnitude due to disruptions in the connected fitness market.3 Includes restructuring expense and non-recurring personnel costs associated with executing our key growth priorities during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, and with the consolidation of our digital platforms during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022.4 Primarily includes interest income.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230808297676/en/ContactsInvestor Relations ICR, [email protected]

Business Wire

The Beachbody Company, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/beachbody-company-inc-announces-second-200500194.html

c0bd9de7-e3d9-3043-8f3d-2d4b352ab1cc

BOF

BEND, Ore., July 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BranchOut Food, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOF) is on record saying they intend to change the narrative around dehydrated food. And according to Eric Healy, BranchOut Food CEO, they leverage the exclusive technology to support that ambitious goal. The company recently went public, completing its June IPO and having its shares listed on the Nasdaq market.Shortly after its listing, BranchOut announced three deals steepening its growth trajectory. Those include deals with two of the country's largest retailers and a product development program with the U.S. Army evaluating its products for MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Although the company is moving fast, BranchOut CEO Eric Healy took time to respond to investor questions. His responses indicate that while the past few weeks have been exciting for the company, the best is yet to come. Here's what he said:Q. Some companies are timely to opportunities, some are ripe to exploit opportunities, and some are both. BranchOut checks both boxes for different reasons. Explain why Branch Out, from a technology perspective, is a game changer to the food industry?A. You've hit on two excellent points. BranchOut is a different kind of food company, changing the dynamic of getting fresh food to market, often from farm to package, in 10 days or less. We're timely because, more than ever, the global population needs a consistent and reliable food supply. With the Russia-Ukraine conflict creating enormous fertilizer product disruption, people must turn to alternative ways to stay nourished.Now, BranchOut certainly isn't a narrow niche player. I'm saying that we can be valuable in that area. At the same time, we can feed millions through traditional retail, evidenced by announcing two deals that put us into over 2,250 stores across the country. They see the value, and as important, as the nation's top retailers are confident of our product's sell-through rate.Story continuesThat results from having a better product, which results from having better processes to dehydrate food. For example, the global conventional drying methods such as air drying and freeze-drying use hot air or freezing and long process times. The result is low-quality products that are brown and leathery or have muted color and a chalky texture. During our GentleDry process, our fresh fruits and vegetables are never frozen, oxidized, or excessively heated.Combined with a very short process time, these attributes leave the dried fruits and vegetables as close to "raw" as possible. That results in noticeable vibrancy, natural colors, intense flavors, and unique textures. Considering our process also locks in most of the original nutritional value, we are a game-changer to dehydration.Q. That technology does more than what you mentioned. In addition to getting food from farms to package in 10 days or less, I've read that you are giving farmers worldwide a second chance at marketing opportunities, correct?A. Absolutely, and at a time when it's needed most. In addition to farmers worldwide getting squeezed by supply chain disruptions, something that gets little coverage is the pressing issue of food waste and its impact on farmers' livelihoods and the environment. Specifically, foods with tiny blemishes, misshapes, or discoloration often get trashed or made into animal feed. That leads to millions, even billions of pounds of food, wasted annually. BranchOut Food is changing that dynamic. We value all the food grown and can ensure it gets to consumers rather than the landfill.To make an impact, we have forged partnerships directly with local Peruvian farmers to source imperfect fruits and vegetables that do not meet USDA aesthetic standards. The company provides farmers an additional income stream for produce that would otherwise go to waste. This mutually beneficial relationship ensures that farmers receive fair compensation and have a reliable market for their surplus of aesthetically imperfect produce.Simultaneously, this practice helps reduce the environmental impact caused by food waste. Our agreements in Peru will be the first of many. Our dehydration technology can utilize fresh fruit and vegetables no matter their appearance, making them a useful, nutritional, and tasty product.Q. An ingredient to the secret sauce of your business is your GentleDry technology, which you discussed earlier. You announced opening a facility in Peru to capitalize on its ability to provide better food to potentially millions of people. Explain why GentleDry is so valuable to people across the world?A. It's valuable for several reasons. Foremost, our GentleDry Technology is capitalizing on producing food and vegetable products from the vast growing regions in Peru, whose conditions provide an ideal combination of climate and access to provide better food for millions of people. There's another advantage to GentleDry.It can appreciably eliminate waste. Before GentleDry technology, many fruits and vegetables could not be dehydrated in a delicious or editable way. We have changed that potential. Today, with GentleDry, we can dehydrate foods that were impossible with previous technologies. Not only have we introduced potentially hundreds of new foods to dehydration, but we are also doing it while providing better flavor, nutritional value, color, and texture. Simply stated, we are opening up a whole new world of healthy food products to consumers worldwide.Q. Supplying a global opportunity presents a lucrative proposition for BranchOut and its investors. How significant is the market opportunity, and where can BranchOut use its marketing muscles to its best advantage?A. The opportunity is enormous, and for BranchOut, it can transform us into one of the world's Flargest food dehydrators. The U.S. snack food market is valued at $108.50 billion in 2023, expected to grow annually by 6.1% from 2023 to 2030. Additionally, the total U.S. dried fruit category reached $1.2 billion in the last 52 weeks, showing year-over-year growth of 2.9%. That's just a part of the opportunity.The U.S. plant-based category, estimated at $8.0 billion in 2023, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% from 2023 to 2033. Moreover, the U.S. private-label food and beverages market was $229 billion in 2022 and is expected to experience a CAGR of 11.3% from 2022 to 2027. These markets align with significant trends in the food industry, including increasing demand for healthier and sustainable options, awareness of the environmental impact of animal agriculture, and the growth of private-label products driven by lower cost and quality awareness.With our branded and private label offerings, BranchOut can capitalize on these market trends in the U.S. and internationally. In fact, our deals with two of the country's largest retailers, which we recently announced, could help open the doors wider to international market opportunities. With a footprint in Peru, we are well-positioned to move quickly.Q. Ironically, while many emerging companies want to own the market with their own label, BranchOut's strategy takes a different tack. Your investor presentation shows that the road to potentially exponential near-term growth is through partnerships and private labeling. Why?A. We see value in two categories- the BranchOut Food label and private label for our customers. Currently, we see the more excellent value in the latter and have strategically chosen private labels as our primary business strategy, believing it's the fastest path to exponential growth. One key reason is that private label offers a better bottom line compared to branded products. With branded products, substantial spending is required on in-store marketing, fees for shelf placement, coupons, promotions, samples, and more. This can significantly impact profitability.On the other hand, private label operates under predictable, contract-based arrangements where retailers pay and build their own brands. This results in a more practical and cleaner bottom line for BranchOut. Focusing on private labels can streamline operations, reduce marketing expenses, and enhance our profitability. It aligns with our goal of delivering high-quality products while optimizing financial performance.Moreover, that model gets us to bottom line EPS faster. As a public company, we believe the multiples given from achieving profitability can generate substantial shareholder value for investors. That's a target in our crosshairs.Q. Utilizing GentleDry, BranchOut has provided slides showing you can impact fruit and vegetable harvests by making products that the USDA deems unsellable into viable, great-tasting products- even in powder form. On a macro level, by extension, is BranchOut helping revitalize lost farms, boost economies, and revive shrinking food option markets?A. We touched on that earlier. However, I would add that even the USDA would appreciate putting good food, while slightly blemished, to good use. And yes, we are already helping revitalize farms and communities in Peru and expect to expand our presence to benefit other geographies. Notably, you mentioned "powder" forms of dehydration. That's a market we are penetrating as well, for excellent reasons.Foremost, the dried fruit powder market presents a significant revenue-generating opportunity, and BranchOut is well-positioned to dominate market share. The U.S. dried fruit powder market is projected to reach USD 5.4 billion by 2030, with a robust compound annual growth rate of 6.7% between 2023 to 2030 (Source: marketdataforcast.com). This growth is driven by factors such as increasing demand for functional foods and beverages, rising health consciousness among consumers, and the growing popularity of natural and organic products.BranchOut's competitive advantage lies in our superior technology, South American supply chain, and in-house powder milling capabilities.Additionally, we have the exclusive license to produce high-quality avocado powders and fragments, which have never been offered as ingredients before. By leveraging these strengths, we expect our dried fruit powder products to play a significant role in our expected revenue equation. We are confident in our ability to capture a substantial market share and capitalize on the increasing demand for innovative and natural food products.Q. Your management and Board comprise a Who's Who list of food industry executives. Here's a question that puts you in an unenviable predicament to answer. Are they the value driver behind the expected growth in 2023, or is the BranchOut technology?A. It's a combination of dependency on each other. Our management and Board of Directors, comprising esteemed individuals from the food industry, play a crucial role in driving the expected growth of BranchOut in 2023. Their extensive industry experience, strategic insights, and valuable connections contribute to the overall success of our company.However, it is essential to note that the BranchOut technology itself is a significant value driver. Our unique technology platform, including our licensed dehydration technology and in-house powder milling capabilities, enables us to deliver innovative, high-quality products to meet the evolving needs of consumers.The combination of our exceptional team and cutting-edge technology positions us for growth and success in the competitive food industry. Remember, while our products are best-in-class, it took people to score the major retail deals we recently announced.Q. BranchOut's success results from timeliness in serving a huge need and opportunity. But it may be more appropriate to describe BranchOut as a company ideally positioned and capable of changing a global food supply narrative. How will BranchOut invest to ensure that the future remains bright for investors and consumers?A. Many great points. Yes, we are timely. Yes, we have excellent technology. And, yes, our food can feed potentially millions. And we will continue to invest our resources to sharpen an already successful business strategy. Without exception, BranchOut is committed to investing strategically to allow expedited growth for the company.That includes allocating resources to research and development, expanding our production capabilities, and optimizing our supply chain to meet growing demand. Additionally, we will prioritize sales and marketing initiatives to increase consumer awareness and engagement while also focusing on sustainability efforts such as upcycling and reducing food waste. By making these investments, BranchOut aims to drive growth, deliver value, and positively impact the lives of millions through sustainable and healthier food options.Keep in mind that since our IPO, we have signed major retail deals, including one with the U.S. Army, to evaluate our foods for MREs. While we think the scale to date is impressive, I would say that we are just getting started. The back half of 2023 will be an exciting time for our company. And results will benefit farmers, consumers, and investors. The best way to phrase what's in store is to say: Stay tuned, learn about BranchOut Food from our website, and watch the news wires. We should have plenty to say.End InterviewAbout BranchOut Food Inc. BranchOut is an international food-tech company delivering truly great natural snacks and real superfood ingredients enabled by their licensed dehydration technology. The Company is a leading provider of high-quality dehydrated fruit and vegetable-based products and its commitment to quality and innovation sets it apart as a trusted brand and private label supplier.BranchOut Food, Inc.CisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-focus-branchout-food-ceo-explains-why-and-how-his-company-is-changing-the-food-industry-narrative-301885829.htmlSOURCE BranchOut Food, Inc.

PR Newswire

In Focus: BranchOut Food CEO Explains Why And How His Company Is Changing The Food Industry Narrative

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/focus-branchout-food-ceo-explains-130000655.html

dbc3c886-12d1-36db-870a-cd9e6f073cc6

BOF

BEND, Ore., Aug. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BranchOut Food Inc. (Nasdaq: BOF), a global leader in natural snacks and superfood ingredients, announces a transformative partnership with Daymon, the foremost authority in Private Brand Sales & Emerging Brand Marketing. This collaboration amplifies BranchOut Food Inc.'s private label strategy, leveraging Daymon's 700 sales professionals that work within the headquarters of 46 major retailers and that cover over 120 of the largest retailers in the nation. With grocery prices escalating near historic rates the demand for cost-effective products drives the Private Label market's 11% annual growth.BranchOut Food Inc. (PRNewsfoto/BranchOut Food Inc.)Daymon's expertise uniquely positions BranchOut Food Inc. to tap into the private label market, offering high-quality, convenient, and unique dehydrated foods to all their major retailers. With the private label industry valued at over $200 billion annually, this partnership will increase the distribution of BranchOut's unique product to the public.Eric Healy, CEO of BranchOut Food Inc., emphasized, "Teaming up with Daymon while leveraging our state-of-t he-art GentleDry Technology is a game-changer. Together, we're set to dominate the explosive private label market for the foreseeable future."For more information about the partnership, visit www.branchoutfood.com or contact media relations at [email protected] BranchOut Food Inc.: BranchOut Food Inc. is a global food-tech leader disrupting the food industry with its advanced dehydration technology, GentleDry. By providing exceptional natural snacks and superfood ingredients without compromising the nutritional benefits, the company has become a trusted provider of premium dehydrated fruit and vegetable-based products for established brands and Private Label partners.About Daymon: Daymon is a frontrunner in Sales, Private Brand, and Emerging Brand Marketing, with a strategic presence in 46 major retailers' national headquarters, a dedicated team of over 700 professionals, and influence across 120+ retail headquarters selling locations. Their suite of elite Private Brand development services empowers retailers and brands for amplified sales and lasting shopper connections, managing an impressive $9 billion in sales.Story continuesFor more information about the partnership, visit www.branchoutfood.com or contact media relations at (phone) 1-801-532-7840 or (email) [email protected] - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2107719/4200938/BranchOut_Food_Logo.jpgCisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/branchout-food-inc-partners-with-daymon-worldwide-to-propel-private-label-growth-301895628.htmlSOURCE BranchOut Food Inc.

PR Newswire

BranchOut Food Inc. Partners with Daymon Worldwide to Propel Private Label Growth

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/branchout-food-inc-partners-daymon-120000109.html

195729ed-0137-31b8-823b-dc59b600b8f0

BOKF

BOK Financial continues a growth pattern in Kansas City that started when it opened its first physical location in the area in 2006, and it's not slowing now even as other banks tighten their willingness to lend.Continue reading

American City Business Journals

BOK Financial bucks retrenching trends, continues to add loans, clients and branches

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/dc060429-c30e-36bd-a654-799374709ec2/bok-financial-bucks.html

dc060429-c30e-36bd-a654-799374709ec2

BOKF

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for BOK Financial (BOKF). Shares have lost about 8.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is BOK Financial due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.BOK Financial Q2 Earnings Miss While Revenues BeatBOK Financial second-quarter earnings per share of $2.27 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.28. Nonetheless, the bottom line increased 15.8% from the prior-year quarter.Results were aided by an improvement in net interest revenues, driven by higher rates and loan growth. Also, total fees and commissions witnessed a rise. However, an increase in expenses and provisions was a matter of concern.Net income attributable to shareholders was $151.3 million, up 13.9% year over year.Revenues Improve, Expenses RiseQuarterly net revenues of $531.3 million (including net interest revenues and total other operating revenues) were up 20% year over year. Further, the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $521.1 million.Net interest revenues were $322.3 million, up 17.6% year over year. NIM expanded 24 bps to 3%.Total fees and commissions were $200.5 million, up 15.6%. The rise was driven by an increase in almost all fee income components, except for transaction card revenues, and deposit service charges and fees.Total other operating expenses were $318.7 million, up 16.5%. This was caused by an increase in almost all cost components, except for printing, postage and supplies expenditures, amortization of intangible assets, mortgage banking costs and other expenses.The efficiency ratio decreased to 58.75% from the prior year’s 60.79%. A decline in the efficiency ratio indicates an improvement in profitability.As of Jun 30, 2023, total loans were $23.24 billion, up 2.1% sequentially. As of the same date, total deposits amounted to $33.29 billion, up 2.2%.Story continuesCredit Quality – Mixed BagAllowance for loan losses was 1.13% of outstanding loans as of Jun 30, 2023, flat year over year. Moreover, the company recorded net charge-offs of $6.7 million against recoveries of $0.8 million in the prior-year quarter.Further, it recorded provisions for credit losses of $17 million in the reported quarter. In the prior-year quarter, the company did not record any provisions.Nonetheless, non-performing assets were $136.5 million or 0.59% of outstanding loans and repossessed assets as of Jun 30, 2023, down from $332.8 million or 1.56% recorded in the year-ago period.Capital Ratios and Profitability Ratios ImproveAs of Jun 30, 2023, the common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 12.13%, up from 11.61% as of Jun 30, 2022. Tier 1 and total capital ratios were 12.13% and 13.24%, up from 11.63% and 12.59%, respectively, as of Jun 30, 2022.The leverage ratio was 9.75%, up from 9.12% as of Jun 30, 2022.Return on average equity was 12.28% compared with the year-earlier quarter’s 11.27%. Return on average assets was 1.27%, up from 1.13% in the year-ago quarter.2023 OutlookThe company expects loan growth in the upper single digit, supported by economic conditions in its geographic footprints, along with business in-migration from other markets. It projects total deposits to be stable or to grow modestly. Further, the loan to deposit ratio is to remain in the low 70’s.Management assumed a 25 bps increase in interest rates in third-quarter 2023 before Federal Reserve pauses the hike. NII is projected to be around $1.3 billion and total fees and commissions revenues are anticipated to reach $800 million.It expects NIM to decline due to funding pressure as interest bearing deposit betas are likely to increase.Quarterly expenses are suggested to be near or slightly above the second quarter of 2023 reported level and the efficiency ratio is expected to move slightly above 60% for the remainder of the year.Management estimates quarterly provision expenses similar to that in the recent quarters.How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates revision have trended downward during the past month.VGM ScoresCurrently, BOK Financial has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a C. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. It's no surprise BOK Financial has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBOK Financial Corporation (BOKF) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Why Is BOK Financial (BOKF) Down 8.2% Since Last Earnings Report?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bok-financial-bokf-down-153110099.html

1b17c7b4-6c75-31b3-9def-721524036448

BR

Everest Group PEAK Matrix® highlights Broadridge's strength in digital platforms for regulatory investor communications and top rating for value delivered and technology capabilityNEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), a global Fintech leader, has been recognized by independent research firm Everest Group as a Leader in its inaugural Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) in Asset and Wealth Management (AWM) Products PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023. In this report, Everest Group evaluates 12 leading DXP providers with solutions that are enabling asset and wealth managers to optimize their processes, personalize client interactions, and create an enhanced advisor experience."Broadridge is continuously investing in its experience-related portfolio for Asset and Wealth Management (AWM), including building persona-specific solutions for both clients and advisors. The company has built a powerful market recall in this space with the help of its investments in digital experience talent and compelling, prevalent thought leadership," said Kriti Gupta, Practice Director, Everest Group. "Recognition from clients on its strong third-party partnership ecosystem and transformative solutions empowering advisors to foster deeper client engagement have helped Broadridge to earn a Leader recognition on Everest Group's Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) in Asset and Wealth Management (AWM) Products PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023.""This is great recognition of Broadridge's work scaling next-gen platforms and driving data-rich digital experiences," said Doug DeSchutter, Co-President, Investor Communication Solutions. "We partner with our clients to accelerate their digital transformation and drive digital engagement among their investors. With hundreds of clients on our digital platforms and the introduction of game-changing innovations, such as Wealth InFocus, we will continue to serve as an industry leader by leveraging our platform modernization and investments."Story continuesProviders were assessed on information submitted for calendar year 2023, interactions with DXP providers, client references and success stories, and buyer feedback. Leaders showcased extensive coverage across all three modules of content management system, client experience, and advisor experience, and are widely adopted by AWM firms across geographies. Leaders have invested heavily in developing digital solutions, such as real-time dashboards, virtual agents, 360-degree customer data analytics, and next-best-action support by leveraging advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation. Leaders have a robust partner ecosystem and have invested in developing collaborative go-to-market strategies, thought leadership, and Centers of Excellence with their partners to drive innovative offerings."Our technology and talent investments began decades, not years, ago and have enabled us to provide companies – large and small, across financial and other industries – with transformative digital platforms that improve customer experiences, significantly reduce costs, and increase efficiencies for firms," said Mike Alexander, President of Wealth Solutions at Broadridge. "We are delighted to see our team and digital experience offerings recognized by Everest Group as we continue to invest in capabilities that empower our clients in modernizing their tech stacks to establish enduring competitive advantages."Broadridge delivers a suite of innovative, market-ready component solutions designed to deliver what's top of mind for every asset and wealth management firm: personalizing the investor experience, driving advisor revenue and productivity, digitizing investment and enterprise operations, and delivering cost efficiencies. Broadridge's open model allows asset and wealth management firms to tap into one or many components, helping them to modernize key parts of their tech stack in line with their strategic needs.About BroadridgeBroadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with over $6 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance, and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions that drive business transformation for banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions of individual and institutional investors around the world. Our technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of more than $10 trillion of equities, fixed income and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work®, Broadridge is part of the S&P 500® Index, employing over 14,000 associates in 21 countries.For more information about us and what we can do for you, please visit www.broadridge.com.Investors:W. Edings ThibaultInvestor Relations+ 1 [email protected]:Gregg RosenbergCorporate Communications+1 [email protected] Group DXP in Asset and Wealth Management Products PEAK Matrix Assessment 2023CisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/broadridge-named-a-leader-in-digital-experience-platforms-for-asset-and-wealth-management-products-by-everest-group-301920269.htmlSOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

PR Newswire

Broadridge Named a Leader in Digital Experience Platforms for Asset and Wealth Management Products by Everest Group

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/broadridge-named-leader-digital-experience-110000520.html

30526041-30f1-32d7-b96d-b282ba43f194

BR

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR). Shares have added about 3.8% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Broadridge Financial due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.Broadridge Beats Q4 Earnings EstimatesBroadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. reported mixed third-quarter fiscal 2023 results, with earnings beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missing the same.Adjusted earnings of $3.21 per share beat the consensus mark by 3.6% and increased 21.1% year over year. Total revenues of $1.83 billion missed the consensus mark by 2.5% but were up 6.7% year over year.Recurring revenues of $1.26 billion increased 7% from the year-ago quarter’s level. The company generated closed sales of $90 million in the quarter, down 19% year over year.Let’s check out the numbers in detail.Revenues by SegmentRevenues in the Investor Communication Solutions segment increased 6% from the year-ago quarter’s level to $1.44 billion and beat our estimate of $1.38 billion. The Global Technology and Operations segment’s revenues came in at $401 million, lagging our estimate of $495.5 million but increasing 8% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The improvement was mainly driven by net new business and internal growth.Operating ResultsAdjusted operating income of $531.2 million increased 21.9% year over year. This compares favorably with our expectation of an adjusted operating income of $500.4 million, up 14.9% year over year.Adjusted operating income margin of 28.9% increased 360 basis points (bps) year over year. This compares with our expectation of an adjusted operating income margin of 26.6%, up 130 bps year over year.Story continuesBalance Sheet and Cash FlowBroadridge exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $252.3 million compared with $331.6 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $2.3 billion compared with the prior quarter’s $4.1 billion.The company generated $729.2 million in cash from operating activities and capex was $17 million in the quarter. It paid out $85.3 million in dividends in the reported quarter.Fiscal 2024 GuidanceBroadridge expects recurring revenue growth to be 6-9%. Adjusted earnings per share growth is expected to be 8-12%. Adjusted operating income margin is estimated to be around 20%. Closed sales are anticipated between $280 million and $320 million.How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in estimates review.VGM ScoresAt this time, Broadridge Financial has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. It comes with little surprise Broadridge Financial has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.Performance of an Industry PlayerBroadridge Financial belongs to the Zacks Outsourcing industry. Another stock from the same industry, Automatic Data Processing (ADP), has gained 0.3% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2023.ADP reported revenues of $4.48 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +8.5%. EPS of $1.89 for the same period compares with $1.50 a year ago.For the current quarter, ADP is expected to post earnings of $2.04 per share, indicating a change of +9.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +0.3% over the last 30 days.ADP has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of C.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBroadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAutomatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Why Is Broadridge Financial (BR) Up 3.8% Since Last Earnings Report?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-broadridge-financial-br-3-153057443.html

0c9daea6-c2f6-3896-bcea-6f8025bd37de

BRCC

SALT LAKE CITY, July 27, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BRC Inc. ("The Company", "BRCC" or "Black Rifle Coffee Company"; NYSE: BRCC), a rapidly growing and mission-driven premium coffee company founded to support Veterans, active-duty military, first responders and serve a broad customer base by connecting consumers with great coffee and a unique brand experience, today announced that it will report second quarter 2023 financial results after market close on Thursday, August 10, 2023. On that day, management will host a conference call and live webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss the financial results.Second Quarter 2023 Financial ResultsWhen: August 10, 2023Time: 4:30 p.m. ETLive Call: (877) 407-0609 or (201) 689-8541A webcast of the call will be available on the investor relations page of the Company’s website at Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC). For those unable to participate in the conference call, a replay will be available after the conclusion of the call through August 17, 2023. The U.S. toll-free replay dial-in number is (877) 660-6853, and the international replay dial-in number is (201) 612-7415. The replay passcode is 13740009.About Black Rifle Coffee CompanyBlack Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) is a Veteran-founded coffee company serving premium coffee to people who love America. Founded in 2014 by Green Beret Evan Hafer, Black Rifle develops their explosive roast profiles with the same mission focus they learned while serving in the military. BRCC is committed to supporting Veterans, active-duty military, first responders and the American way of life.To learn more about BRCC, visit www.blackriflecoffee.com, follow BRCC on social media, or subscribe to Coffee or Die Magazine's daily newsletter at https://coffeeordie.com/presscheck-signup.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230727299338/en/ContactsFor inquiries regarding Black Rifle Coffee Company, please contact:InvestorsTanner Doss: [email protected] for BRCC: [email protected]

Business Wire

Black Rifle Coffee Company to Report Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results on August 10, 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/black-rifle-coffee-company-report-200500296.html

c6cacd3a-e2a1-3228-870c-f8999e0cdc36

BRCC

Net Revenue Increases 39% in Q2 2023 to $91.9 million, Led by Wholesale Growth of 109%Achieves Positive Adjusted EBITDA for the Second Quarter, Reaffirms Profitability for the Full YearLaunches Second National Grocery Customer and Two Additional Regional Grocery ChainsRefinances Credit Facility Adding Additional LiquiditySALT LAKE CITY, August 10, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BRC Inc. (NYSE: BRCC), a rapidly growing and mission-driven premium coffee company founded to support veterans, active-duty military, first responders and serve a broad customer base by connecting consumers with great coffee and a unique brand experience, today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023."The Black Rifle Coffee Company brand has never been stronger," said BRCC Founder and Chief Executive Officer Evan Hafer. "Maintaining an authentic connection with our customers has and always will be core to Black Rifle's mission. This unique connection with our customers is why we are growing distribution and new customers across both our FDM and convenience store channels. Our brand is resonating across the country, in cities and small towns alike and we are gaining distribution and doors to meet our customers where they shop every day. Additionally, our aided brand awareness has jumped by almost 10 percentage points, to 28% since 2022. We still have a long way to go, but we continue to remain focused on building a lasting brand that will be around for generations.""As we alluded to last quarter, we are pleased to announce we are shipping bagged coffee and k-cups to our second national grocery chain as well as two regional chains. We have a strong pipeline of additional retailers and expect our FDM business to continue to gain distribution and share for the next few years. In addition, as of the end of the second quarter, BRCC's RTD coffee was available in over 82,000 doors as we are making progress on our 2023 goal of having our RTD products available in 100,000 doors."Story continuesSecond Quarter 2023 Financial DetailsNet revenue of $91.9 million was an increase of 39% year-over-year.Gross profit increased year-over-year to $32.2 million representing a 35.0% gross margin.Net loss of $14.7 millionAdjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) of $0.1 million, a sequential improvement from $(5.1) million in the first quarter of 2023 and a year over year improvement from $(10.5) million for the three months ending June 2022.Year-to-Date 2023 Financial DetailsNet revenue of $175.4 million was an increase of 33% year-over-year.Gross profit increased year-over-year to $59.7 million representing a 34.0% gross margin.Net loss of $32.0 millionAdjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) of $(5.1) million, a year over year improvement from $(16.8) million for the six months ending June 2022.Second Quarter 2023 ResultsSecond quarter 2023 revenue increased 38.5% to $91.9 million from $66.4 million in the second quarter of 2022. Wholesale revenue increased 108.6% to $50.0 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $24.0 million in the second quarter of 2022. Direct-to-Consumer ("DTC") revenue decreased 6.4% to $34.6 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $37.0 million during the second quarter of 2022. Outpost revenue increased 35.3% to $7.4 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $5.4 million in the second quarter of 2022. The Wholesale channel performance was primarily driven by entry into FDM and growth in our RTD product. In addition, RTD product sales increased through national distributors and retail accounts from 67,000 doors to 82,000 doors in the second quarter 2023. The DTC performance was primarily due to decreased marketing spend and the decision to redirect investments to other faster growing areas of the business as we continue to experience elevated DTC customer acquisition costs. The Outpost channel performance was driven by an increase in our company-owned store count, which increased to seventeen in the second quarter of 2023 from ten company-owned outposts in the second quarter of 2022.Gross profit increased to $32.2 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $22.6 million in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 42.8% year to year. The increase in gross profit was driven primarily by higher sales volume. Gross margin increased 100 basis points to 35.0% from 34.0% for the second quarter of 2022. Gross margin improved primarily due to favorable product mix shift, as coffee and rounds sold into FDM customers has higher gross margin as compared to other channels.Marketing expenses decreased 22.3% to $7.0 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $9.0 million in the second quarter of 2022. As a percentage of revenue, marketing expenses decreased 600 basis points to 7.6% in the second quarter of 2023 versus 13.6% in the second quarter of 2022. This decrease was due to reductions in lower-returning advertising platforms, partially offset by increased costs incurred in connection with the expansion of existing partnerships. In addition, marketing and advertising spend has been favorably impacted by channel mix with revenue growth primarily coming from the Wholesale channel, which requires lower marketing spend than DTC.Salaries, wages and benefits increased 18.1% to $18.4 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $15.5 million in the second quarter of 2022. As a percentage of revenue, salaries, wages and benefits decreased 350 basis points to 20.0% in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to 23.4% for the second quarter of 2022. The increase in salaries, wages and benefits was due to an increase in employee headcount to support our significant sales growth and investment in new stores opened and existing channels as we continue to build out additional revenue streams and expand product lines, as well as, $0.4 million in severance payments related to some reductions in headcount across the company.General and administrative (G&A) expenses increased 30.1% to $19.3 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $14.8 million in the second quarter of 2022. As a percentage of revenue, G&A decreased 140 basis points to 21.0% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to 22.3% in the second quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to continued legal fees related to non-routine legal matters arising from the Business Combination in 2022.Net loss for the second quarter of 2023 was $14.7 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $0.1 million. This compares to net loss of $45.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $(10.5) million in the second quarter of 2022.Refinancing of Credit FacilityAfter the end of the quarter, BRCC refinanced the Company’s credit facility to provide expanded liquidity to continue to support the growth of the business. The facility consists of an ABL Credit Agreement and a Term Loan Credit Agreement, which collectively provide aggregate borrowing capacity of up to $125 million through 2028. These facilities have allowed us to repay most of our existing indebtedness and will provide us with additional liquidity and a long term capital structure. A detailed summary, as well as the full text of the ABL Credit Agreement and Term Loan Credit Agreement are filed as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed concurrently with this release, and the foregoing summary is qualified in all respects by the full text of such documents.Financial OutlookBRC Inc. provides annual guidance based on current market conditions and expectations for revenue, gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. We expect 2023 results to be within the previously issued guidance range but at the lower end of the range across all three metrics, representing low to mid 30% revenue growth, continued improvement in Gross Margin and Adjusted EBITDA profitability. We expect to see sequential improvements in Gross Margins and Adjusted EBITDA in both Q3 and Q4. While the impact of new FDM distribution will be minimal on 2023 results due to timing and reset cadence, we expect these launches and additional planned launches to continue to propel strong growth and improving profitability throughout 2024.The guidance provided above constitutes forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially. Refer to the "Forward-Looking Statements" safe harbor section below for information on the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.We have not reconciled forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, net income (loss), because we cannot predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of certain components of such reconciliations, including market-related assumptions that are not within our control, or others that may arise, without unreasonable effort. For these reasons, we are unable to assess the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could materially impact the amount of future net loss. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional important information regarding Adjusted EBITDA.Conference CallA conference call to discuss the Company’s second quarter results is scheduled for August 10, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Those who wish to participate in the call may do so by dialing (877) 407-0609 or (201) 689-8541 for international callers. A webcast of the call will be available on the investor relations page of the Company’s website at ir.blackriflecoffee.com. For those unable to participate in the conference call, a replay will be available after the conclusion of the call through August 17, 2023. The U.S. toll-free replay dial-in number is (877) 660-6853, and the international replay dial-in number is (201) 612-7415. The replay passcode is 13740009.About BRC Inc.Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) is a veteran-founded coffee company serving premium coffee to people who love America. Founded in 2014 by Green Beret Evan Hafer, Black Rifle develops their explosive roast profiles with the same mission focus they learned while serving in the military. BRCC is committed to supporting veterans, active-duty military, first responders and the American way of life.To learn more about BRCC, visit www.blackriflecoffee.com, follow BRCC on social media, or subscribe to Coffee or Die Magazine's daily newsletter at https://coffeeordie.com/presscheck-signup.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements about BRC Inc. and its industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including statement’s regarding the Company’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company’s financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, future market conditions, developments in the capital and credit markets and expected future financial performance, as well as any information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The events and circumstances reflected in the Company’s forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ from actual results include, but are not limited to: competition and our ability to grow and manage growth sustainably and retain our key employees; failure to achieve profitability; negative publicity affecting our brand and reputation, or the reputation of key employees, which may adversely affect our operating results; failure by us to maintain our message as a supportive member of the veteran and military communities and any other factors which may negatively affect the perception of our brand; our limited operating history, which may make it difficult to successfully execute our strategic initiatives and accurately evaluate future risks and challenges; failed marketing campaigns, which may cause us to incur costs without attracting new customers or realizing higher revenue; failure to attract new customers or retain existing customers; risks related to the use of social media platforms, including dependence on third-party platforms; failure to provide high-quality customer experience to retail partners and end users, including as a result of production defaults, or issues, including due to failures by one or more of our co-manufacturers, affecting the quality of our products, which may adversely affect our brand; decrease in success of the direct to consumer revenue channel; loss of one or more co-manufacturers, or delays, quality, or other production issues, including labor-related production issues at any of our co-manufacturers; failure to effectively manage or distribute our products through our wholesale business partners; failure by third parties involved in the supply chain of coffee, store supplies or merchandise to produce or deliver products, including as a result of ongoing supply chain disruptions, or our failure to effectively manage such third parties; changes in the market for high-quality coffee beans and other commodities; fluctuations in costs and availability of real estate, labor, raw materials, equipment, transportation or shipping; loss of confidential data from customers and employees, which may subject us to litigation, liability or reputational damage; failure to successfully compete with other producers and retailers of coffee; failure to successfully open new Black Rifle Coffee Outposts, including failure to timely proceed through permitting and other development processes, or the failure of any new or existing Outposts to generate sufficient sales; failure to properly manage our rapid growth and relationships with various business partners; failure to protect against software or hardware vulnerabilities; failure to build brand recognition using our intellectual properties or otherwise; shifts in consumer spending, lack of interest in new products or changes in brand perception upon evolving consumer preferences and tastes; failure to adequately maintain food safety or quality and comply with food safety regulations; failure to successfully integrate into new domestic and international markets; risks related to leasing space subject to long-term non-cancelable leases and with respect to real property; failure of our franchise partners to successfully manage their franchises; failure to raise additional capital to develop the business; risks related to supply chain disruptions; risks related to unionization of employees; failure to comply with federal state and local laws and regulations; inability to maintain the listing of our Class A Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange; and other risks and uncertainties indicated in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 15, 2023 including those set forth under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" included therein, as well as in our other filings with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release and the Company’s current beliefs and expectations concerning future developments and their effects on the Company. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as predications of future events. Although the Company believes that it has a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, the Company cannot guarantee that the future results, growth, performance or events or circumstances reflected in these forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur at all. These forward-looking statement speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.BRC Inc.CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)(unaudited)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,2023202220232022Revenue, net$91,947$66,365$175,437$132,201Cost of goods sold59,74143,809115,72086,432Gross profit32,20622,55659,71745,769Operating expensesMarketing and advertising7,0139,02614,15717,177Salaries, wages and benefits18,35615,53938,18031,557General and administrative19,29614,83137,05429,718Impairment on assets held for sale1,202—1,202—Total operating expenses45,86739,39690,59378,452Operating loss(13,661)(16,840)(30,876)(32,683)Non-operating income (expense)Interest expense, net(791)(176)(1,114)(666)Other income (expense), net(156)(56)117293Change in fair value of earn-out liability—(38,553)—(209,651)Change in fair value of warrant liability—5,435—(56,675)Change in fair value of derivative liability—5,172—(2,335)Total non-operating expenses(947)(28,178)(997)(269,034)Loss before income taxes(14,608)(45,018)(31,873)(301,717)Income tax expense5767113195Net loss$(14,665)$(45,085)$(31,986)$(301,912)Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest(10,437)(34,330)(22,958)(228,236)Net loss attributable to BRC Inc.$(4,228)$(10,755)$(9,028)$(73,676)Net loss per share attributable to Class A Common Stock(1)Basic and diluted$(0.07)$(0.22)$(0.15)$(1.49)Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding(1)Basic and diluted58,741,71749,771,10458,607,29047,789,909(1) For the six months ended June 30, 2022, net loss per share of Class A Common Stock and weighted-average shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding is representative of the period from February 9, 2022 through June 30, 2022, the period following the Business Combination. Shares of Class B Common Stock do not participate in the earnings or losses of the Company and are therefore not participating securities. As such, separate presentation of basic and diluted loss per share of Class B Common Stock under the two-class method has not been presented.BRC Inc.CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS(in thousands, except share and par value amounts)June 30,December 31,20232022(unaudited)(audited)AssetsCurrent assets:Cash and cash equivalents$19,782$38,990Accounts receivable, net24,39522,337Inventories, net109,72077,183Prepaid expenses and other current assets8,8486,783Assets held for sale4,043—Total current assets166,788145,293Property, plant and equipment, net63,53359,451Operating lease, right-of-use asset33,96920,050Identifiable intangibles, net397225Other298315Total assets264,985225,334Liabilities and stockholders' equityCurrent liabilities:Accounts payable37,49712,429Accrued liabilities31,61736,660Deferred revenue and gift card liability10,0759,505Current maturities of long-term debt, net2,0832,143Current operating lease liability1,9641,360Current maturities of finance lease obligations9595Current liabilities related to assets held for sale2,151—Total current liabilities85,48262,192Non-current liabilities:Long-term debt, net75,79547,017Finance lease obligations, net of current maturities171221Operating lease liability33,63119,466Other non-current liabilities602502Total non-current liabilities110,19967,206Total liabilities195,681129,398Commitments and ContingenciesStockholders' equity:Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding——Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 2,500,000,000 shares authorized; 60,750,253 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 202355Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 300,000,000 shares authorized; 151,044,097 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 20231616Class C common stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,500,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding as of June 30, 2023——Additional paid in capital134,953129,508Accumulated deficit(112,761)(103,733)Total BRC Inc.'s stockholders' equity22,21325,796Non-controlling interests47,09170,140Total stockholders' equity69,30495,936Total liabilities and stockholders' equity$264,985$225,334BRC Inc.CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS(in thousands, unaudited)Six Months Ended June 30,20232022Operating activitiesNet loss$(31,986)$(301,912)Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:Depreciation and amortization3,3522,015Equity-based compensation5,0493,238Non-employee equity-based compensation—739Amortization of debt issuance costs52261Loss on sale of assets128—Impairment on assets held for sale1,202—Change in fair value of earn-out liability—209,651Change in fair value of warrant liability—56,675Change in fair value of derivative liability—2,335Changes in operating assets and liabilities:Accounts receivable, net(2,058)(6,243)Inventories, net(32,537)(5,711)Prepaid expenses and other assets(2,248)(4,635)Accounts payable22,112(8,922)Accrued liabilities(5,043)(3,105)Deferred revenue and gift card liability570676Operating lease liability850257Other liabilities100145Net cash used in operating activities(40,457)(54,536)Investing activitiesPurchases of property, plant and equipment(10,009)(9,400)Proceeds from sale of equipment186—Net cash used in investing activities(9,823)(9,400)Financing activitiesProceeds from issuance of long-term debt, net of cash paid for debt issuance costs of $34 as of June 30, 2023 and $— as of June 30, 2022199,0007,597Repayment of long-term debt(167,783)(23,617)Financing lease obligations(50)13Repayment of promissory note(400)—Redemption of common units305—Distribution and redemption of Series A preferred equity—(127,853)Proceeds from Business Combination, including PIPE investment—337,957Payment of Business Combination costs—(31,638)Redemption of Class A and Class B units—(20,145)Redemption of incentive units—(3,627)Net cash provided by financing activities31,072138,687Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents(19,208)74,751Beginning cash and cash equivalents38,99018,334Ending cash and cash equivalents$19,782$93,085BRC Inc.CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (CONTINUED)(in thousands, unaudited)Six Months Ended June 30,20232022Non-cash operating activitiesRecognition of right-of-use operating lease assets$13,919$10,392Non-cash investing and financing activitiesAccrued capital expenditures2,95623Series A preferred exchange for PIPE shares—26,203Series A preferred equity amortization—5,390Supplemental cash flow informationCash paid for income taxes422233Cash paid for interest$1,324$531KEY OPERATING AND FINANCIAL METRICS(unaudited)Revenue by Sales Channel(in thousands)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,2023202220232022Wholesale$50,010$23,971$90,007$45,926Direct to Consumer34,58636,96271,36675,294Outpost7,3515,43214,06410,981Total net sales$91,947$66,365$175,437$132,201Key Operational MetricsSix Months Ended June 30,20232022Wholesale Doors8,7703,730RTD Doors82,41066,770DTC Subscribers239,500287,800OutpostsCompany-owned stores1710Franchise stores1410Total Outposts3120Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresTo evaluate the performance of our business, we rely on both our results of operations recorded in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") and certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. These measures, as defined below, are not defined or calculated under principles, standards or rules that comprise GAAP. Accordingly, the non-GAAP financial measures we use and refer to should not be viewed as a substitute for performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as a substitute for a measure of liquidity. Our definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA described below are specific to our business and you should not assume that they are comparable to similarly titled financial measures of other companies. We define EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest, state income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense. We also present EBITDA excluding non-cash fair value adjustments relating to the remeasurement of earn-out and derivative liabilities upon vesting events and the remeasurement of a warrant liability upon redemption of warrants. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA excluding non-cash fair value adjustments, as adjusted for equity-based compensation, system implementation costs, transaction expenses, executive recruiting, severance, relocation and sign-on bonus, write-off of site development costs, strategic initiative related costs, non-routine legal expenses, RTD start-up production issue, impairment for assets held for sale, contract termination costs, and restructuring advisory fees and other costs. Investors should note that, beginning with results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, we have modified the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA to no longer exclude Outpost pre-opening expenses, and beginning with the results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, we have modified the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA to no longer exclude (i) expenses associated with certain legal expenses we have determined are no longer non-routine and (ii) cash expenses associated with RTD start-up and production issues.. To conform to the current period’s presentation, we have excluded Outpost pre-opening expenses, the aforementioned legal expenses, and cash expenses associated with RTD start-up and production issues when presenting Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. This change decreased Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 by $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively. When used in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, we believe that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are useful supplemental measures of operating performance because these measures facilitate comparisons of historical performance by excluding non-cash items such as equity-based payments and other amounts not directly attributable to our primary operations, such as the impact of system implementation, acquisitions, disposals, executive searches, executive severance, non-routine investigations, litigation and settlements. Adjusted EBITDA is also a key metric used internally by our management to evaluate performance and develop internal budgets and forecasts. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analyzing our results as reported under GAAP and may not provide a complete understanding of our operating results as a whole. Some of these limitations are (i) they do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs, (ii) they do not reflect our interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our debt, (iii) they do not reflect our tax expense or the cash requirements to pay our taxes, (iv) they do not reflect historical capital expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments, (v) although equity-based compensation expenses are non-cash charges, we rely on equity compensation to compensate and incentivize employees, directors and certain consultants, and we may continue to do so in the future and (vi) although depreciation, amortization and impairments are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and these non-GAAP measures do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements.A reconciliation of net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is set forth below:Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA(amounts in thousands)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,2023202220232022Net loss$(14,665)$(45,085)$(31,986)$(301,912)Interest expense7911761,114666Tax expense5767113195Depreciation and amortization1,6331,0273,3522,015EBITDA$(12,184)$(43,815)$(27,407)$(299,036)Non-cash fair value adjustmentsChange in fair value of earn-out liability expense(1)—38,553—209,651Change in fair value of warrant liability expense(2)—(5,435)—56,675Change in fair value of derivative liability(3)—(5,172)—2,335EBITDA, excluding non-cash fair value adjustments$(12,184)$(15,869)$(27,407)$(30,375)Equity-based compensation(4)2,5431,3635,0493,977System implementation costs(5)1,1712761,862528Transaction expenses(6)—37—1,020Executive recruiting, relocation and sign-on bonus(7)7581,3381,0671,657Write-off of site development costs(8)277—1,062—Strategic initiative related costs(9)2821,7091,5055,259Non-routine legal expense(10)3,2404584,246458RTD start-up and production issues(11)595—2,394—Impairment for assets held for sale(12)1,202—1,202—Contract termination costs(13)188—730—Restructuring fees and related costs(14)2,0752103,209697Adjusted EBITDA$147$(10,478)$(5,081)$(16,779)(1)Represents the non-cash expense recognized to remeasure the earn-out liability to fair value upon vesting events. The change in fair value was a result of the increase of the closing price of our publicly traded common stock subsequent to the closing of our business combination.(2)Represents non-cash expense recognized to remeasure the warrant liability to fair value upon redemption. The change in fair value was a result of the increase of the closing price of our publicly traded common stock subsequent to the closing of our business combination.(3)Represents non-cash expense recognized to remeasure the derivative liability to fair value upon the vesting event. The change in fair value was a result of the increase of the closing price of our publicly traded common stock subsequent to the closing of our business combination.(4)Represents the non-cash expense related to our equity-based compensation arrangements for employees, directors, consultants and wholesale channel partner.(5)Represents non-capitalizable costs associated with the implementation of our enterprise-wide resource planning (ERP) system.(6)Represents expenses related to becoming a public company such as public company readiness, consulting and other fees that are not related to core operations.(7)Represents nonrecurring payments made for executive recruitment, relocation, and sign-on bonuses.(8)Represents the write-off of development costs for abandoned retail locations.(9)Represents nonrecurring third-party consulting costs related to the planning and execution of our growth and productivity strategic initiatives.(10)Represents legal costs and fees incurred in connection with certain non-routine legal disputes consisting of certain claims relating to deSPAC warrants and a commercial dispute with a former consultant resulting from the Company in-housing certain activities.(11)Represents nonrecurring, non-cash costs and expense incurred as a result of our RTD start-up and production issue.(12)Represents the adjustment recorded to recognize assets held for sale at their estimate net realizable value less estimated cost to sell.(13)Represents nonrecurring costs incurred for early termination of software and service contracts.(14)Represents restructuring advisory fees, severance, and other related costs (previously included in footnote (7) and footnote (9).View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230810859269/en/ContactsInvestors Tanner Doss: [email protected] ICR for BRCC: [email protected]

Business Wire

BRC Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brc-inc-reports-second-quarter-201500303.html

56d88946-038f-35c6-b298-7c413ed768f4

BRID

In this article, we discuss the top ten donut companies/brands in the world. If you want to see more companies in this selection, check out the Top 5 Donut Companies and Brands in the World.The Donut Industry: An AnalysisDonuts are a sweet dessert made by bakers that use flour as their major ingredient and are baked. Donuts are of two varieties — yeast donuts and cake donuts which are commonly accessible in various bakeries and supermarkets globally.According to Technavio's most recent projected market analysis, the size of the worldwide donut market is anticipated to increase by $5.02 billion between 2020 and 2025 at a CAGR of 4%. North America will account for 35% of market growth during the projection period. By 2024, donut revenue will reach $55 billion worldwide, according to Statista. The two biggest markets for donuts in North America are the US and Canada. This region's market will grow faster than Europe, the Middle East, and South America combined. Throughout the forecast period, rising middle-class households and higher living standards will promote the expansion of the donut market in North America. Due to the rising popularity of malls and shopping centers, many new players have made significant investments in the distribution of donuts through these establishments. The development of new highways and airports in developing nations allows major donut brands to open additional retail outlets. The market for donuts is fragmented, and vendors are using organic and inorganic expansion techniques to compete.Donuts traditionally produced with yeast are made from a sweet dough that has been fermented with yeast to achieve the necessary expansion of the dough. The dough is rolled to the correct thickness and cut out after fermentation. These donuts have a chewy, somewhat yeasty flavor and are light and airy. Vegan consumers are increasingly favoring vegan yeast-raised donuts, particularly in industrialized nations like the US and Canada. Such donuts are widely available from vendors in the market. Another element contributing to the donut's expanding market share is the rising demand for healthier versions of the treat. Donuts are one of the most popular pastries eaten in the US, both at home and away from home. In 2015, donut sales comprised more than 20% of all pastry sales. However, as consumer lives have changed, there has been an increase in demand for healthy options such as whole grain, high fiber, low-fat, all-natural, and fortified options. Many individuals worldwide prefer freshly prepared dishes over calorie-dense, unhealthily processed, or pre-packaged foods.Story continuesThe cost of the basic materials needed to manufacture donuts, such as sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa, and milk, might change depending on the supply. Any increase in the cost of raw materials drives up manufacturing expenses and lowers vendor profit margins. Additionally, to stay competitive in the market, manufacturers frequently test out less expensive alternatives. The price of the final product rises due to the growth in raw material costs. This makes it difficult for market sellers to roll out new product lines with distinctive or special ingredients that enhance the flavor of their donuts and draw in additional customers. Consumers' purchasing decisions are impacted by growing product pricing, which ultimately impacts sales volumes and market expansion.According to ibisworld, high levels of competition are the main element affecting this industry negatively, whereas per capita coffee consumption is the main factor affecting it favorably. Coffee sales have become a more important source of revenue and customer attraction for donut shops. Donut shops with coffee and related beverages on their menu stand to gain as coffee use rises. The business could benefit from the anticipated rise in per capita coffee consumption in 2022 and beyond.Photo by Ben Dutton on UnsplashOur MethodologyFor this article, we picked the top 10 biggest donut companies and brands by market capitalization.10. Laird Superfood, Inc. (NYSE:LSF)Market Capitalization as of November 28, 2022: $0.01 billionLaird Superfood, Inc. (NYSE:LSF) was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Sisters, Oregon. Laird Superfood, Inc. (NYSE:LSF) manufactures and markets plant-based natural and functional food in the United States. It offers powdered and liquid coffee creamers, and hydration and beverage enhancing supplements, hydrate coconut water products, activate daily jumpstart products, activate prebiotic daily greens, renew plant-based proteins, and performance mushroom supplements; coffee, tea, hot chocolate products and Pili nuts and Harvest dates. The company provides its products through the wholesale, website, and third-party online channels.09. Bridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ:BRID)Market Capitalization as of November 28, 2022: $0.10 billionBridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ:BRID) was founded in 1932 and is based in Dallas, Texas. Bridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ:BRID) is a subsidiary of Bridgford Industries Incorporated. Bridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ:BRID), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes frozen, refrigerated, and snack food products in the United States. Bridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ:BRID) offers frozen ready-dough used in preparing donuts. It operates in two segments, Frozen Food Products and Snack Food Products. The company primarily offers biscuits, bread dough items, roll dough items, and dry sausage and beef jerky products. It provides approximately 130 frozen food products to food service and retail customers through wholesalers, cooperatives, and distributors and 170 snack food items to supermarkets, mass merchandise, and convenience retail stores through customer-owned distribution centers, as well as a direct store delivery network.08. Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)Market Capitalization as of November 28, 2022: $0.12 billionLifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) was founded in 1986 and is based in Morton Grove, Illinois. Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types, including low-fat, non-fat, whole milk, protein, and BioKefir. Apple Cider Donut Holes and Olive Oil Doughnuts are the company's main donut offerings. Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) sells its products under the Lifeway and Fresh Made brand names, as well as under private labels on behalf of customers primarily through a direct sales force, brokers, and distributors.07. Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT)Market Capitalization as of November 28, 2022: $2.68 billionKrispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) was founded in 1937 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT), together with its subsidiaries, operates through an omnichannel business model to provide donut experiences and produce donuts. The company operates through three segments: U.S. and Canada, International, and Market Development. It also produces cookies, brownies, cookie cakes, ice cream, cookie-wiches, and cold milk, as well as doughnut mixes, other ingredients, and doughnut-making equipment. As of January 2, 2022, Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) had 1,810 Krispy Kreme and Insomnia Cookies-branded shops in approximately 30 countries worldwide, which include 971 company owned and 839 franchised. It serves through donut shops, delivered fresh daily outlets, e-commerce, and delivery business. Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) was formerly known as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. and changed its name to Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) in May 2021.06. J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)Market Capitalization as of November 28, 2022: $3.11 billionJ&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) was incorporated in 1971 and is based in Pennsauken, New Jersey. J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) manufactures, markets, and distributes nutritional snack foods and beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) operates through three segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) provides bakery products, such as biscuits, fig and fruit bars, cookies, bread, rolls, crumbs, muffins, and donuts under the MRS. GOODCOOKIE, READI-BAKE, COUNTRY HOME, MARY B'S, DADDY RAY'S, and HILL & VALLEY brands, as well as under private labels. The company sells its products through a network of food brokers, independent sales distributors, and a direct sales force. Click to continue reading and see the Top 5 Donut Companies and Brands in the World. Suggested articles:10 Best Biotech Stocks To Buy11 Best Covid Stocks To Invest In15 Best Self-Driving Car Stocks To BuyDisclosure: None. Top 10 Donut Companies and Brands in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey

Top 10 Donut Companies and Brands in the World

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-10-donut-companies-brands-125653321.html

f9b54c26-5e3c-3450-a9d2-f5cb0b3dbab6

BRID

EnWave CorporationVANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnWave Corporation (TSX-V:ENW | FSE:E4U) (“EnWave”, or the "Company") a global leader in vacuum-microwave dehydration technology, has announced the signing of a royalty-bearing commercial license (the “License”) with Bridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ: BRID) (“Bridgford”) a leading American food production company, for the manufacture of certain military ration products using EnWave’s innovative Radiant Energy Vacuum (“REV™”) dehydration technology. The exclusive license granted to Bridgford will enable the company to leverage the full potential of REV™ technology to produce certain military ration products in the United States of America. Bridgford has also purchased a 120kW REV™ machine.EnWave's partnership with Bridgford is supported by a manufacturing technology grant, which will guarantee the U.S. Department of Defense certain REV™ manufacturing capacity at Bridgford’s facility to supply close combat field rations.In addition to military ration products, Bridgford will also leverage REV™ technology to develop additional consumer-branded products at their North Carolina facility. The 120kW REV™ dehydration machine sold to Bridgford is expected to be commissioned within 2023. EnWave plans to continue close collaboration with Bridgford to expedite the development of new commercial products, which will be added to Bridgford’s License in due course. With Bridgford's established presence in California, Texas, Illinois, and North Carolina, EnWave is confident that this partnership should lead to significant growth opportunities for both companies.About Bridgford FoodsBridgford Foods Corporation, a California corporation, was organized in 1952. Bridgford originally began operations in 1932 as a retail meat market in San Diego, California and evolved into a meat wholesaler for hotels and restaurants, a distributor of frozen food products, a processor and packer of meat, and a manufacturer and distributor of frozen food products for sale on a retail and wholesale basis. Currently, Bridgford and its subsidiaries are primarily engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of an extensive line of frozen and snack food products throughout the United States.Story continuesFor over 90 years, the mission of Bridgford Foods Corporation has been to develop, produce, sell and distribute superior quality food products that provide a consistent value to their customers. Bridgford adheres to the highest ethical standards. They treat their customers and employees with honesty, respect, dignity and appreciation. Bridgford believes that they wrap their future in every package, and they stand behind the products they sell 100%. Bridgford believes that innovation is essential to the future success of their business, and they strive to be industry trendsetters in the development of new products.For more information about Bridgford Foods, please visit www.bridgford.com.About EnWaveEnWave is a global leader in the innovation and application of vacuum microwave dehydration. From its headquarters in Vancouver, BC, EnWave has developed a robust intellectual property portfolio, perfected its Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV™) technology, and transformed an innovative idea into a proven, consistent, and scalable drying solution for the food, pharmaceutical and cannabis industries that vastly outperforms traditional drying methods in efficiency, capacity, product quality, and cost. With more than fifty royalty-generating partners spanning twenty countries and five continents, EnWave’s licensed partners are creating profitable, never-before-seen snacks and ingredients, improving the quality and consistency of their existing offerings, running leaner and getting to market faster with the company’s patented technology, licensed machinery, and expert guidance.EnWave’s strategy is to sign royalty-bearing commercial licenses with food and cannabis producers who want to dry better, faster and more economical than freeze drying, rack drying and air drying, and enjoy the following benefits:Food and ingredients companies can produce exciting new products, reach optimal moisture levels up to seven times faster, and improve product taste, texture, color and nutritional value.Cannabis producers can dry four to six times faster, retain up to 20% more terpenes and 25% more cannabinoids, and achieve at least a 3-log reduction in crop-destroying microbes.EnWave CorporationMr. Brent Charleton, CFAPresident and CEOFor further information:Brent Charleton, CFA, President and CEO at +1 (778) 378-9616E-mail: [email protected] Murray, CFO at +1 (778) 870-0729E-mail: [email protected] Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking information based on management's expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures, the Company ceasing to make investments in NutraDried, the timing of the wind-down and dissolution of NutraDried, expectations around the cost of winding down NutraDried, and the Company's intended focus for the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. 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 as anticipated, estimated or intended, including that the process of winding up NutraDried will involve time and expense to the Company materially greater than anticipated, that the realization of assets of NutraDried will not sufficiently cover the orderly wind-up of NutraDried, which could result in the requirement for additional funding by the Company to complete such wind-up, that the foregoing developments will adversely affect the Company, in terms of cost, management time and focus, outlook or reputation; the ability of the Company to achieve its longer-term outlook, the ability to lower costs, and the other risk factors set forth in the Company's public filings. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.Neither the 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.

GlobeNewswire

EnWave and Bridgford Foods Sign Commercial License Agreement to Produce Military Ration Components

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/enwave-bridgford-foods-sign-commercial-130000438.html

b0c7f39d-becf-3844-a401-284496bc42ad

BRK.B

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has built his reputation by developing a tried-and-true model for picking quality stocks and making savvy investments. This has led to Buffett's having beaten the market by an almost absurd margin over time. Does it make sense to buy what Buffett buys, or strike out on your own?Continue reading

Motley Fool

You Can't Control Warren Buffett Stocks, but You Can Control What You Do About Them

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/c3a6fa0f-911d-3715-80a8-476d4ee335ba/you-can-t-control-warren.html

c3a6fa0f-911d-3715-80a8-476d4ee335ba

BRK.B

Berkshire Hathaway surprised many investors by adding three homebuilders to its portfolio, but which is the best?Continue reading

Motley Fool

Which of Berkshire Hathaway's 3 Homebuilder Stocks Is the Best Buy?

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/4bb06b7a-6511-38ae-b2e9-c812dc7d4ac9/which-of-berkshire-hathaway-s.html

4bb06b7a-6511-38ae-b2e9-c812dc7d4ac9

BRKL

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Brookline Bancorp's shares before the 10th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 25th of August.The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.14 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.54 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Brookline Bancorp has a trailing yield of approximately 5.0% on its current stock price of $10.75. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing. View our latest analysis for Brookline Bancorp If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Fortunately Brookline Bancorp's payout ratio is modest, at just 50% of profit.Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.historic-dividendHave Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Brookline Bancorp earnings per share are up 8.3% per annum over the last five years.Story continuesThe main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Brookline Bancorp has lifted its dividend by approximately 4.7% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.Final TakeawayHas Brookline Bancorp got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It has been growing its earnings per share somewhat in recent years, although it reinvests more than half its earnings in the business, which could suggest there are some growth projects that have not yet reached fruition. In summary, Brookline Bancorp appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.In light of that, while Brookline Bancorp has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Brookline Bancorp and understanding them should be part of your investment process.A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Be Sure To Check Out Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sure-check-brookline-bancorp-inc-120356783.html

3bbcff63-d1e3-33aa-bed7-f411c7db4974

BRKL

Key InsightsSignificantly high institutional ownership implies Brookline Bancorp's stock price is sensitive to their trading actionsThe top 8 shareholders own 50% of the company Insiders have bought recently If you want to know who really controls Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 79% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Brookline Bancorp. See our latest analysis for Brookline Bancorp ownership-breakdownWhat Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Brookline Bancorp?Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.Brookline Bancorp already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Brookline Bancorp's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.Story continuesearnings-and-revenue-growthInstitutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Brookline Bancorp. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 6.0% of the stock. In addition, we found that Paul Perrault, the CEO has 0.7% of the shares allocated to their name.We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.Insider Ownership Of Brookline BancorpThe definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.We can see that insiders own shares in Brookline Bancorp, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$843m, and insiders have US$26m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying. General Public OwnershipThe general public-- including retail investors -- own 18% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.Next Steps:I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - Brookline Bancorp has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) is favoured by institutional owners who hold 79% of the company

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brookline-bancorp-inc-nasdaq-brkl-125643445.html

a4c4335e-4908-3050-bb43-866a10149d73

BRKR

Largest German airport FRA to modernize passenger security with up to 220 Bruker high-performance explosives trace detector (ETD) systems DE-tector™ flexFRANKFURT, Germany, September 07, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fraport AG has announced the procurement decision in favor of Bruker for the provision of up to 220 DE-tector™ flex explosives and narcotics trace detectors to support their airport security measures. The installations are planned over a multi-year period from 2023 to 2027 to modernize the screening of passengers at Germany’s busiest airport FRA. The next-generation, high-performance Bruker DE-tector flex systems are intended to replace earlier-generation Bruker ETD systems at Frankfurt airport.This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907970523/en/Bruker explosives and narcotics trace detector DE-tector flex. (Photo: Business Wire)The Bruker DE-tector flex is a next-generation transportable explosives and narcotics trace detector that meets the requirements of two important security applications in airports, namely drugs (D) and explosives (E) detection. By wiping surfaces with multi-use, disposable swabs, and inserting them into the DE-tector flex, traces of most explosives and many illegal drug substances can be identified automatically within seconds. The new DE-tector flex system is certified by ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference) as well as by national authorities, and it utilizes a non-radioactive ionization source."These next-generation systems will replace earlier explosive trace detectors at Frankfurt Airport and modernize the screening of passengers. The certification of the DE-tector flex system provides us with confidence that we are utilizing the most innovative and safe technology available. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Bruker to ensure the safety and security of our passengers and of the aviation industry," commented Sascha König, Head of Resource Management and Infrastructure Terminals, Fraport AG.Story continuesDr. Andreas Kamlowski, President of the Bruker Optics Division, stated: "We are delighted that Fraport AG has again selected Bruker to provide innovative and reliable solutions to support the safety and security of the public and of the aviation industry. Bruker is fully committed to continue the long-term supplier partnership that started with the first installation of Bruker ETD detectors at FRA in 2015."About Bruker CorporationBruker is enabling scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity and customer success in life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial applications. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics. For more information, please visit: www.bruker.com.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907970523/en/ContactsInvestor: Justin WardSr. Director, Investor Relations & Corporate DevelopmentBruker CorporationT: +1 (978) 313-5800E: [email protected]: Michael MuellerMarketing ManagerBruker Optics GmbH & Co. KGT: +49 7243 504 2652

Business Wire

Bruker Announces New Fraport AG Framework Contract for ETD Systems

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bruker-announces-fraport-ag-framework-110000361.html

defd8c07-2146-3c6f-b778-c4128444657b

BRKR

Bruker Corporation BRKR is well-poised for growth in the coming quarters due to the strong performance of the Bruker CALID and NANO groups. Bruker’s announcement to acquire PhenomeX is a significant step in functional single-cell biology research solutions.However, the company’s operations are exposed to intense competition from its peers in the industry. Mounting expenses weighing on the margin are also concerning for Bruker.In the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has increased 10.1% against the 18.9% fall of the industry and an 11.6% rise of the S&P 500 composite.The renowned medical device company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion. Bruker projects a long-term estimated earnings growth rate of 18.5% compared with 11.6% of the industry. BRKR’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 11.96%.Let’s delve deeper.UpsidesCALID Group Holds Potential: Bruker’s CALID Group has been progressing due to strong growth in the life science mass spectrometry business. The timsTOF platform continues to witness the robust demand for applications in 4Dproteomics, anti-proteomics and metabolomics and more.In addition, BRKR launched the timsTOF Ultra in the second quarter, which provides market-leading sensitivity and throughput with expanded peptide coverage and more accurate quantitation in unbiased 4D single-cell line and tissue proteomics.Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchBSI NANO Group’s Prospects Appear Bright: Bruker’s NANO Group continues to witness strong growth across its end markets, including academic and government, industrial and semiconductor metrology. Product innovation and research demand are driving Life Science fluorescence microscopy revenues, along with a strong contribution from the recently acquired Inscopix neuroscience research tools.Throughout the first half of 2023, revenues from advanced X-ray and Nano surface tools delivered strong growth.Story continuesAcquisitions to Add Value: The recent announcement to acquire PhenomeX marks Bruker’s entry into functional single-cell biology research solutions. This complements the company’s emerging spatial biology business in support of the transformational Project Accelerate 2.0 strategy.Earlier in May 2023, BRKR closed the acquisition of ZONTAL Inc., which bolsters Bruker BioSpin’s Integrated Data Solutions software division. The combined efforts of both companies aim to provide an exceptional offering for the vendor-agnostic digital laboratory and biopharmaceutical process transformation, as well as grow strong partnerships with today's customers.DownsidesA Competitive Landscape: Bruker faces substantial competition in a consolidating industry and expects competition across its markets to increase further. Bruker BioSpin competes with companies that offer magnetic resonance spectrometers, mainly JEOL and Oxford Instruments. In the field of preclinical imaging, Bruker BioSpin faces a competitive threat from Perkin Elmer, Visualsonics (Fuji Film) and others.Unfortunately, many of Bruker’s peers have expanded their market share in recent years through business combinations. Other companies may also choose to enter Bruker’s fields of operation in the near future.Margin Performance: Similar to its peers in the industry, Bruker also faces the inflationary pressures of supply-chain challenges, increased expenses and adverse currency impacts. In the second quarter of 2023, the company reported a 125-basis point contraction in the adjusted operating margin due to a lower gross margin, an unfavorable product mix, continuing investments in select Project Accelerate 2.0 initiatives and the impact of the recent acquisitions and foreign exchange headwinds.Estimate TrendThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bruker’s 2023 earnings per share (EPS) has remained constant at $2.57 in the past 30 days.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2023 revenues is pegged at $2.88 billion. This suggests a 13.97% rise from the year-ago reported number.Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Align Technologies ALGN, SiBone SIBN and Quanterix QTRX.Align Technologies has a long-term estimated earnings growth rate of 17.5% compared with the industry’s 12.3%. ALGN’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, the average negative surprise being 1.76%. Its shares have rallied 32.7% compared with the industry’s 7.9% rise in the past year.ALGN carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.SiBone, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has a long-term estimated earnings growth rate of 22.9% compared with the industry’s 16.5%. Shares of the company have rallied 23.4% compared with the industry’s 4.8% growth over the past year.SIBN’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 20.37%.Quanterix, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated earnings growth rate of 62.8% for the current year compared with the industry’s 15.2%. Shares of QTRX have surged 170.8% against the industry’s 4.8% decline over the past year.Quanterix’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 30.39%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 55.56%.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportAlign Technology, Inc. (ALGN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBruker Corporation (BRKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportQuanterix Corporation (QTRX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSiBone (SIBN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Here's Why You Should Retain Bruker (BRKR) Stock for Now

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-retain-bruker-brkr-115400072.html

37b411a8-a2ca-336a-a320-bd7a82d83324

BRO

Brown & Brown, Inc.Mike BruceChief Executive Officer of Brown & Brown EuropeChief Executive Officer of Brown & Brown EuropeDAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) has announced the promotion of Mike Bruce to chief executive officer of Brown & Brown Europe. Mike was formerly the chief executive officer of Global Risk Partners (GRP), which was acquired by Brown & Brown in July 2022. In his new role, Mike will lead Brown & Brown’s overall European strategy.Commenting on the business rationale, Mike said his goal is to enable the European teams to build more connectivity and leverage the financial strength and scale of Brown & Brown with insurers, customers and potential acquisitions. Mike says, ”Our teammates will be able to derive value from our combined capabilities and deeper collaboration. ‘The Power of We’ is one of Brown & Brown’s consistent cultural focuses, which I am excited to have the opportunity to facilitate in our growing European operations.”“To be successful, you need to adapt, collaborate and think one step ahead,” said Barrett Brown, president of Retail and executive vice president. “Mike has consistently proven that he can help optimize processes for multiple businesses, using creative strategies and solutions to drive positive outcomes for our customers and teammates.”Powell Brown, chief executive officer and president of Brown & Brown, says, “The growth trajectory in Europe is a testament to our teammates in the United Kingdom, Ireland and beyond; the attractiveness of our acquisition solutions; and the effectiveness of our model. We feel very positive about our global value proposition as we increase collaboration and look to make future investments. We are confident that Mike is a leader that will assist in implementing our collective vision."Mike will work directly with Brown & Brown senior leaders, Barrett Brown, executive vice president; Chris Walker, executive vice president; and Stephen Boyd, executive vice president.About Brown & Brown Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) is a leading insurance brokerage firm, delivering risk management solutions to individuals and businesses since 1939. With 15,000+ teammates in approximately 500 locations worldwide, we are committed to providing innovative strategies to help protect what our customers value most. For more information or to find an office near you, please visit bbinsurance.com.Story continuesFor more information:R. Andrew WattsChief Financial Officer386-239-5770A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9633dd7d-a41a-401b-8652-07a8b50cf5aa

GlobeNewswire

Brown & Brown promotes Mike Bruce to chief executive officer of Brown & Brown Europe; enhances collaboration of European operations

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brown-brown-promotes-mike-bruce-120000279.html

9382eab8-76c7-33de-b06a-611cbc982922

BRO

Brown & Brown, Inc.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- J. Powell Brown, president and chief executive officer, and Julie Turpin, chief people officer, are pleased to announce that Great Place To Work and Fortune Media have named Brown & Brown, Inc. to the 2023 Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance List.Chief People Officer Julie Turpin shares, “This incredible recognition is a testament to our teammates' dedication, collaboration and exceptional talents. Through their diverse and unique experiences, they each contribute to our success story in an amazing way.”“The Brown & Brown culture is unique and differentiates us from other organizations—we are committed to never losing what makes our company special. We put our teammates’ well-being first, celebrate our differences and are committed to making a positive difference in our communities,” says Powell Brown, president and chief executive officer.The Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance list is highly competitive and based on an analysis of survey responses from over 191,000 employees from Great Place To Work Certified™ companies in the financial services and insurance industry. Survey responses reflect a comprehensive picture of the workplace experience. Honorees were selected based on their ability to offer positive employee outcomes regardless of job role, race, gender, sexual orientation, work status, or other demographic identifier.“Congratulations to the Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work®. “These companies know that it isn’t the industry — but the company — that determines the employee experience. By putting people first, they are reaping the rewards: higher levels of performance, innovation and customer experience.”Brown & Brown was also recently awarded the 2022-2023 Platinum Level Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America (MHA) and was Certified™ by Great Place to Work® for the fourth year in a row late last year.Story continuesBrown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) is a leading insurance brokerage firm, delivering risk management solutions to individuals and businesses since 1939. With 15,000+ teammates in approximately 500 locations worldwide, we are committed to providing innovative strategies to help protect what our customers value most. For more information, to view job postings or find an office near you, please visit bbinsurance.com.For more information: Jenny Goco Director of Communications (386) 333-6066

GlobeNewswire

Brown & Brown, Inc. is named one of the Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance by Great Place to Work® and Fortune

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brown-brown-inc-named-one-120000939.html

ec81fa62-3853-3df6-9555-80a076170bf4

BRSH

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Bruush Oral Care Inc. (NASDAQ:BRSH) (the "Company"), a direct-to-consumer leader in the oral care category, announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a 1-for-25 reverse split of its common shares ("Consolidation") primarily to comply with the Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement. The Consolidation is effective as of the close of business on July 31, 2023 and the Company's common shares and warrants will trade on a post-split basis under the same symbols, BRSH and BRSHW, respectively, commencing with the opening of trading on the Nasdaq on August 1, 2023.Following the effectiveness of the Consolidation, the CUSIP number for the Company's common shares will be 11750K401. As a result of the Consolidation, every 25 common shares issued and outstanding will be exchanged for one common share. If any fractional common shares are created as a result of the Consolidation, any fractional common share less than 0.50 will be cancelled and any fractional common share greater than 0.50 will be rounded up to the nearest whole common share. Immediately after the Consolidation becomes effective, the Company will have approximately 511,368 common shares issued and outstanding. Additionally, the exercise price per common share attributable to the warrants will be proportionately increased, such that the exercise price immediately following the Consolidation will equal the product of twenty five (25) multiplied by the exercise price per share immediately prior to the Consolidation. The number of shares immediately subject to the warrants , will equal after the Consolidation, 1/25th (0.04 or 4%) of the number of shares immediately prior to the Consolidation.About Bruush Oral Care Inc.Bruush Oral Care Inc. is on a mission to inspire confidence through brighter smiles and better oral health. Founded in 2018, we are an oral care company that is disrupting the space by reducing the barriers between consumers and access to premium oral care products. We are an e-commerce business with a product portfolio that currently consists of a sonic-powered electric toothbrush kit and brush head refills. We developed the product to make upgrading to an electric brush appealing with three core priorities in mind: (i) a high-quality electric toothbrush at a more affordable price than a comparable electric toothbrush from the competition; (ii) a sleek, countertop-friendly design; and (iii) a convenient brush head refill subscription program that eliminates the frustrating experience of purchasing replacement brush heads at the grocery/drug store. Later this year, we plan to expand our portfolio with the launch of several new subscription-based consumable oral care products, including toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, a whitening pen, as well as an electric toothbrush designed for kids. We are rooted in building a brand that creates relevant experiences and content, with the goal of becoming the go-to oral care brand for millennials and Generation Z.For more information on Brüush visit: https://bruush.comFollow Brüush on LinkedIn: BruushFollow Brüush on Instagram: @bruushSafe Harbor Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release of Bruush Oral Care Inc. contains "forward-looking statements". Words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates" and other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it discusses its vision, its strategy, and its products. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based upon management's current expectations, beliefs and projections, many of which, by their nature are inherently uncertain. Such expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith. However, there could be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from what is expressed or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, subsequent events or circumstances, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statement, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements.Investor Relations Contact:Colette [email protected]: Bruush Oral Care Inc.View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/771267/Brush-Oral-Care-Inc-Announces-1-for-25-Reverse-Stock-Split-Effective-Pre-Market-Opening-on-August-1-2023

ACCESSWIRE

Brüush Oral Care Inc. Announces 1-for-25 Reverse Stock Split Effective Pre-Market Opening on August 1, 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/br-ush-oral-care-inc-170000526.html

26f927ad-8a80-3cf8-9dc2-e778837b3e83

BRSH

For the ultimate contrarian, few market categories exist that induce white-knuckled pressure quite like stocks with high short interest. At its most simplistic level, bullish traders targeting highly shorted securities believe that the underlying volatility has gone too far. As a result, going against the grain may yield astounding returns.Such massive rewards are possible because of the nature of short-squeeze stocks. To initiate a short position, traders must a) borrow the shares they’re betting against and b) sell said shares immediately hoping they go down. If they do, the shorts buy back the borrowed quantity of shares, returning them to the lender while pocketing the profits (minus various administrative costs).It sounds simple for the bears unless the shares swing higher. Since no theoretical upside limit exists, bears can be on the hook for unlimited losses. Therefore, stocks with high short interest may spark panic. And that panic is what drives this contrarian practice. Still, companies with high short interest are that way for a reason. Keep that in mind as you ponder the below short-squeeze stocks.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsBruush Oral Care (BRSH)hands at desk near laptop computer, with one hand holding a pile of hundred dollar bills. Bank stocksSource: shutterstock.com/CC7No, Bruush Oral Care (NASDAQ:BRSH) isn’t on this list of stocks with high short interest because of a typo. That’s how you spell the brand. All levity aside, Bruush offers an intriguing business. Per its website, the company offers an electric toothbrush kit plus a subscription to promote dentist-level cleanliness. With the enterprise featured in multiple publications – including The Wall Street Journal – it might be something to pick up.However, most traders apparently don’t think much of BRSH. Since the beginning of this year, shares lost a troubling 69% of equity value. In the trailing one-year period, they’re down a shocking 93%. Based on this context, it’s no surprise that BRSH ranks among the short-squeeze stocks. Specifically, data from Benzinga notes that BRSH carries a short interest of 58.21% of its float.Story continuesOn a financial note, it’s possible that Bruush could swing back following sharp losses. For one thing, the company doesn’t carry any debt, meaning that it enjoys incredible flexibility. Moreover, buying an advanced toothbrush yields cost savings from having to deal with expensive procedures.Lottery.com (LTRY)Stocks to buy: smartphone with the words "buy" and "sell" displayed on the screen. The user's finger is about to press buy. Stock charts are in the background of the image. Momentum StocksSource: Chompoo Suriyo / Shutterstock.comA controversial enterprise, Lottery.com (NASDAQ:LTRY) ranks among the stocks with high short interest because of its fascinating appeal. Basically, speculation is almost hardwired into the human psyche. That said, one can’t ignore the dark side of the lottery business. Without getting bogged down into the granularity, lotteries tend to cluster in low-income (as in underprivileged) communities.Setting aside the predatory undertones of games of chance, plenty of adults can willful choices to participate. Therefore, it’s not all that surprising to see LTRY gain nearly 39% of its equity value since the year’s start. Here’s the thing, though: in the past six months, LTRY gave up more than 65%. Right now, it’s one of the most heavily targeted securities by bears, with a short interest of 78.26% of the float.Unlike Bruush Oral Care, few redeeming financial qualities exist for Lottery.com. Indeed, investment data aggregator Gurufocus warns that LTRY suffers from five red flags, including fading revenue. Still, for a quick gamble on short-squeeze stocks, this might yield (briefly) positive results.Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment (HOFV)A businessman ripping his shirt off to reveal an upward green arrow with the word buy on it underneathSource: ImageFlow/Shutterstock.comOn paper, Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment (NASDAQ:HOFV) sounds quite appealing. Billed as a world-class resort and sports entertainment firm, Hall of Fame leverages unique brand partnerships and direct access to exclusive content. Through this approach, the company creates exceptional experiences across multiple platforms. Notably, the resort operator appointed former NFL star Jerome Bettis (a hall of famer himself) to its board of directors.Given the popularity of the NFL, Hall of Fame could turn out to be a promising brand. For now, it’s one of the stocks with high short interest. Since the start of the year, HOFV lost only 2%, which doesn’t sound that bad. However, in the trailing one-year period, shares collapsed to the tune of 70%.Naturally, bears have aligned their crosshairs on HOFV, which presently carries a short interest of 78.08% of its float. Also, its short-interest ratio runs at an elevated 17.4 days to cover. I suppose, though, that the bears need one bad moment in the market to spark a panic. This is one for the speculators to watch closely.On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare.More From InvestorPlaceMusk’s “Project Omega” May Be Set to Mint New Millionaires. Here’s How to Get In.ChatGPT IPO Could Shock the World, Make This Move Before the AnnouncementIt doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now.The post 3 Stocks to Buy With 50% of Their Floats Sold Short appeared first on InvestorPlace.

InvestorPlace

3 Stocks to Buy With 50% of Their Floats Sold Short

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-stocks-buy-50-floats-205640030.html

a1b9c29c-db57-33c4-9e5a-3ec4e909ce23

BRSP

NEW YORK, August 02, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE: BRSP) ("BrightSpire Capital" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and certain updates. The Company reported second quarter 2023 GAAP net loss attributable to common stockholders of ($7.5) million, or ($0.06) per share, Distributable Earnings of $21.1 million, or $0.16 per share, and Adjusted Distributable Earnings of $32.0 million, or $0.25 per share. The Company reported GAAP net book value of $10.16 per share and undepreciated book value of $11.53 per share as of June 30, 2023.Michael J. Mazzei, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We remain focused on asset and liability management and maintaining ample liquidity until market conditions stabilize."Supplemental Financial ReportA Second Quarter 2023 Supplemental Financial Report is available on the Shareholders – Events and Presentations section of the Company’s website at www.brightspire.com. This information will be furnished to the SEC in a Current Report on Form 8-K.We refer to "Distributable Earnings" and "Adjusted Distributable Earnings", which are non-GAAP financial measures, in this release. A reconciliation to net income/(loss) attributable to BrightSpire Capital common stockholders, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is included in our full detailed Second Quarter 2023 Supplemental Financial Report and is available on our website at www.brightspire.com.Second Quarter 2023 Conference CallThe Company will conduct a conference call to discuss the financial results on August 2, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. ET / 7:00 a.m. PT. To participate in the event by telephone, please dial (877) 407-0784 ten minutes prior to the start time (to allow time for registration). International callers should dial (201) 689-8560. The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed on the Shareholders section of the Company’s website at www.brightspire.com. A webcast of the call will be available for 90 days on the Company’s website.Story continuesFor those unable to participate during the live call, a replay will be available starting August 2, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT, through August 9, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET / 8:59 p.m. PT. To access the replay, dial (844) 512-2921 and use conference ID code 13739219. International callers should dial (412) 317-6671 and enter the same conference ID.Dividend AnnouncementOn June 16, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share to holders of Class A common stock for the second quarter of 2023, which was paid on July 14, 2023, to common stockholders of record on June 30, 2023.Previously, on March 16, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share to holders of Class A common stock for the first quarter of 2023, which was paid on April 17, 2023, to common stockholders of record on March 31, 2023.About BrightSpire Capital, Inc.BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE: BRSP) is internally managed and one of the largest publicly traded commercial real estate (CRE) credit REITs, focused on originating, acquiring, financing and managing a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of CRE debt investments and net leased properties predominantly in the United States. CRE debt investments primarily consist of first mortgage loans, which we expect to be the primary investment strategy. BrightSpire Capital is organized as a Maryland corporation and taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For additional information regarding the Company and its management and business, please refer to www.brightspire.com.Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," or "potential" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, and may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Among others, the following uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: operating costs and business disruption may be greater than expected; uncertainties regarding the ongoing impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its adverse impact on the real estate market, the economy and the Company’s investments, financial condition and business operation; the Company's operating results may differ materially from the information presented in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as well as in the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; the fair value of the Company's investments may be subject to uncertainties (including impacts associated with accelerating inflationary trends, recent and potential further interest rate increases, the volatility of interest rates, credit spreads and the transition from LIBOR to SOFR, increased market volatility affecting commercial real estate businesses and public securities); the Company's use of leverage and interest rate mismatches between the Company’s assets and borrowings could hinder its ability to make distributions and may significantly impact its liquidity position; the ability to simplify the portfolio, realize substantial efficiencies as well as anticipated strategic and financial benefits, including, but not limited to expected cost savings through the internalization or expected returns on equity and/or yields on investments; the timing of and ability to generate additional liquidity and deploy available liquidity, including in senior mortgage loans; whether the Company will achieve its anticipated Distributable Earnings per share (as adjusted), or maintain or produce higher Distributable Earnings per share (as adjusted) in the near term or ever; the Company’s ability to maintain or grow the dividend at all in the future; defaults by borrowers in paying debt service on outstanding indebtedness, borrowers’ abilities to manage and stabilize properties; deterioration in the performance of the properties securing our investments (including the impact of higher interest expense, depletion of interest and other reserves or payment-in-kind concessions in lieu of current interest payment obligations, population shifts and migration, reduced demand for office, multifamily, hospitality or retail space) that may cause deterioration in the performance of our investments and, potentially, principal losses to us; adverse impacts on the Company's corporate revolver, including covenant compliance and borrowing base capacity; adverse impacts on the Company's liquidity, including available capacity under and margin calls on master repurchase facilities; lease payment defaults or deferrals, demands for protective advances and capital expenditures; the ability of the Company to refinance certain mortgage debt on similar terms to those currently existing or at all; the ability to execute CRE CLO’s on a go forward basis, including at a reduced cost of capital; the impact of legislative, regulatory, tax and competitive changes, regime changes and the actions of government authorities and in particular those affecting the commercial real estate finance and mortgage industry or our business; and the impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, global trade tensions, and the implementation and expansion of economic and trade sanctions. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information about these and other factors can be found in Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as well as in BrightSpire Capital’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, each of the factors referenced above are likely to also be impacted directly or indirectly by the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and investors are cautioned to interpret substantially all of such statements and risks as being heightened as a result of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19.We caution investors not to unduly rely on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. BrightSpire Capital is under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release, nor to conform prior statements to actual results or revised expectations, and BrightSpire Capital does not intend to do so.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230802560892/en/ContactsInvestor Relations BrightSpire Capital, Inc.Addo Investor RelationsAnne [email protected]

Business Wire

BrightSpire Capital, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brightspire-capital-inc-announces-second-123000457.html

b9009a7d-ea48-3a90-abd9-78b7660fb1b0

BRSP

Investors in BrightSpire Capital, Inc. BRSP need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the Jan 19, 2024 $10 Put had some of the highest implied volatility of all equity options today.What is Implied Volatility?Implied volatility shows how much movement the market is expecting in the future. Options with high levels of implied volatility suggest that investors in the underlying stocks are expecting a big move in one direction or the other. It could also mean there is an event coming up soon that may cause a big rally or a huge sell-off. However, implied volatility is only one piece of the puzzle when putting together an options trading strategy.What do the Analysts Think?Clearly, options traders are pricing in a big move for BrightSpire shares, but what is the fundamental picture for the company? Currently, BrightSpire is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) in the REIT and Equity Trust industry that ranks in the Bottom 17% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter has moved from 23 cents per share to 24 cents.Given the way analysts feel about BrightSpire right now, this huge implied volatility could mean there’s a trade developing. Oftentimes, options traders look for options with high levels of implied volatility to sell premium. This is a strategy many seasoned traders use because it captures decay. At expiration, the hope for these traders is that the underlying stock does not move as much as originally expected.Looking to Trade Options?Check out the simple yet high-powered approach that Zacks Executive VP Kevin Matras has used to close recent double and triple-digit winners. In addition to impressive profit potential, these trades can actually reduce your risk.Click to see the trades now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportStory continuesBrightSpire Capital, Inc. (BRSP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Are Options Traders Betting on a Big Move in BrightSpire (BRSP) Stock?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/options-traders-betting-big-move-123400360.html

d786acb7-676a-3d52-bd3d-a55100efbeee

BRX

Jaguar Global Growth Corporation IJaguar Global Shareholders Approve Extension of Deadline to Complete Initial Business Combination, with 44% of IPO Shares Still OutstandingAnnounce Appointees for the New Public Company, Captivision Inc., Board of Directors MIAMI and SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I (Nasdaq: JGGC, JGGCR, and JGGCW) (“Jaguar Global”) and GLAAM, Co., Ltd. (“GLAAM”), a leading designer and manufacturer of architectural media glass, today announced Jaguar Global shareholder approval of an extension to extend the date by which Jaguar Global has to consummate a business combination (the “Termination Date”) and appointees for the Board of Directors relating to the previously announced business combination.As a result of the business combination, GLAAM and Jaguar Global shareholders will exchange their shares for shares in a new combined company that is named “Captivision Inc.” (“Captivision”). Captivision’s ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the proposed ticker symbols “CAPT” and “CAPTW.”Results of Jaguar Global’s Extension Extraordinary General MeetingOn August 11, 2023, Jaguar Global shareholders approved an amendment to extend the Termination Date. The Termination Date was extended from the original date of August 15, 2023 to September 15, 2023. The amendment also allows Jaguar Global, without another shareholder vote, to elect to extend the Termination Date on a monthly basis until December 15, 2023, or a total of up to four months after the original Termination Date.“We believe the results of the Extension Extraordinary General Meeting not only provide us with additional flexibility to complete our business combination, but also demonstrate our shareholders’ confidence in the strategy for the combined company,” said Gary Garrabrant, Chairman and CEO of Jaguar Global. “With 44% of the shares issued in our IPO still outstanding, we believe we are well-positioned to close our business combination. We would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support.”Story continuesAt the Extension Extraordinary General Meeting, the holders of 12,925,707 Jaguar Global Class A Ordinary Shares originally issued in Jaguar Global’s IPO properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.64 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $137.5 million. As such, approximately 56% of the Jaguar Global Class A Ordinary Shares issued in the IPO were redeemed and approximately 44% of such shares remain outstanding. After the satisfaction of such redemptions and the extension payment in connection with the extension amendment, the balance in the trust account was approximately $107.3 million.More information on the results of the Extension Extraordinary General Meeting can be found in the Form 8-K filed on August 16, 2023.Proposed Public Company Board of Directors Under the terms of the business combination agreement, Captivision’s board will consist of seven directors. The appointees are highly qualified individuals who bring extensive expertise and complementary skills.Mr. Garrabrant continued: “We believe the world-class executives we have selected for appointment to Captivision’s board bring diverse and seasoned perspectives to our growth strategy. With backgrounds in both private and public companies across entertainment and news media, real estate, investments, and innovation, these individuals offer invaluable expertise, experience, and relationships. We are privileged to have their support as we execute our strategic vision upon closing the business combination.”Ho Joon Lee, Co-Founder of GLAAM, commented: “With such high-caliber appointees, we believe Captivision will be well-positioned to drive adoption of our G-Glass technology in new geographies and sectors globally. Each proposed new board member brings deep industry knowledge, along with key leadership and governance experience, and we are confident this combined expertise will be invaluable as we transition to becoming a publicly traded company.”Captivision’s registration statement on Form F-4 provides more information about the proposed board members under the section entitled “New PubCo Management Following the Business Combination—Management and Board of Directors.” Set out below are Captivision’s board member appointees with brief background information on each:Gary R. Garrabrant is the Chairman and CEO of Jaguar Global, as well as the CEO and co-founder of both Jaguar Growth Partners Group, LLC (“Jaguar”) and JGP. He has a strong track record of building and investing in companies in diversified sectors, including logistics, retail, homebuilding, specialty finance, real estate, and technology. Prior to the creation of Jaguar, Mr. Garrabrant co-founded Equity International and later served as its CEO and Director, providing strategic direction and overseeing all of the company’s activities and investment portfolio. Mr. Garrabrant has served as Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Director of various companies, spanning multiple continents and sectors.Ho Joon Lee is an award-winning executive and entrepreneur with a background in technology, media and communications, and finance. Dr. Lee is the co-founder of GLAAM and has led the innovation, commercialization, and business development of GLAAM’s products, having overseen the raise of over $185 million in additional capital and established GLAAM’s partnerships with industry leaders, such as LG Electronics and ANC. Previously, he founded and served as the CEO of two South Korean investment companies, Bio X Co. Ltd. and M3 Capital Partners Asia.Betty Liu is an accomplished entrepreneur, journalist, producer, and corporate executive, with over 25 years of professional experience in the United States and internationally. She is currently an independent non-executive director of L’Occitane International (SEHK: 973) and is the former Chairperson, President, and CEO of D and Z Media Acquisition Corp. Ms. Liu previously served as the Executive Vice Chairperson of the NYSE Group and Chief Experience Officer for NYSE’s parent company, ICE, and she was also a member of the NYSE Group’s board of directors. Ms. Liu was also actively involved in over 25 initial public offerings, including some of the largest listings in recent history.Michael Berman has years of experience leading financial functions for public companies and is an expert in real estate. Currently, Mr. Berman is the CEO of MB Capital Associates; a board director and the audit committee chair of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX); and a board director, audit committee chair, and governance and nominating committee member for Skyline Champion Corp. (NYSE: SKY), one of the nation’s largest factory-built housing companies. Before his time at MB Capital Associates, he held the roles of CFO and Executive Vice President at GGP, Inc., and he previously served in these capacities at Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS). At ELS, Mr. Berman was responsible for the company’s capital markets, finance, treasury, accounting, tax, technology, and investor relations functions.Craig Hatkoff is a veteran leader in commercial real estate and global digital infrastructure, having served on the board of directors of several public companies in the real estate industry. Mr. Hatkoff is a current board director of both Jaguar Global and SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), a public REIT and the largest owner of commercial real estate in Manhattan, and he is also the current Chairperson of Turtle Pond Publications. Mr. Hatkoff was previously the executive chairperson of LEX Markets and served on the board of directors of Digital Bridge (NYSE: DBRG) (f/k/a Colony Capital, Inc.), a public REIT focused on global digital infrastructure.Jessica Thomas has extensive experience in the media industry. She is currently a Partner at William Morris Endeavor (WME), a global entertainment agency, and a member of the board of directors of Environmental Media Association. Ms. Thomas founded and ran the commercial division of WME’s predecessor, Endeavor Talent Agency, in 2002, and she helped develop it into one of the leading brand divisions over the past 20 years.Hafeez Giwa has nearly 20 years of professional experience in the global real estate investment industry. Mr. Giwa is the Founder and Managing Partner of H Capital International (HCI), a privately held investment, development, and advisory firm specializing in real estate and infrastructure, and Co-Founder of HC Capital Properties (HCCP), a real estate investment and development company focused on Africa. Before establishing HCI and HCCP in 2020 and 2015, respectively, he held the position of Vice-President at Actis, a private equity firm focused on growth markets, from 2012 to 2015.About Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I is a partnership between Jaguar Growth Partners, a global investor in growth companies, and Hennessy Capital Group, an alternative asset manager for innovative technology companies. For more information, please visit www.jaguarglobalgrowth.com.About GLAAMGLAAM is the inventor and manufacturer of G-Glass, the world’s first architectural media glass that combines IT building material and architectural glass into one standalone product. G-Glass has a variety of applications, including digital out of home media and marketing.To learn more about GLAAM, visit: www.glaam.co.kr/en.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Jaguar Global’s, GLAAM’s and Captivision's expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the proposed business combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the proposed business combination and the timing of the completion of the proposed business combination. For example, projections of future enterprise value, revenue and other metrics are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expect", "intend", "will", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "predict", "potential" or "continue", or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Jaguar Global and its management, Captivision and GLAAM and its management, as the case may be, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the business combination agreement; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings or regulatory matters or investigations that may be instituted against Jaguar Global, GLAAM, Captivision or others; (3) the inability to complete the business combination due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Jaguar Global or to satisfy other conditions to closing; (4) changes to the proposed structure of the business combination that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations; (5) the ability to meet stock exchange listing standards following the consummation of the business combination; (6) the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations of Jaguar Global or GLAAM as a result of the announcement and consummation of the business combination; (7) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of Captivision to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (8) costs related to the business combination; (9) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (10) the possibility that Jaguar Global, GLAAM or Captivision may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (11) the impact of COVID-19 on GLAAM's business and/or the ability of the parties to complete the proposed business combination; (12) GLAAM's estimates of expenses and profitability and underlying assumptions with respect to shareholder redemptions and purchase price and other adjustments; and (13) other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Jaguar Global’s final prospectus relating to its initial public offering and in Jaguar Global’s and Captivision's subsequent filings with the SEC, including the registration statement on Form F-4, which includes the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, relating to the business combination.Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. None of Jaguar Global, GLAAM or Captivision undertake any duty to update these forward-looking statements.Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed business combination, Captivision has filed a registration statement on Form F-4 (File No. 333-271649) (the “Registration Statement”) with the SEC as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement filed on June 1, 2023 and Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement filed on July 7, 2023), which includes a preliminary prospectus with respect to Captivision securities to be issued in connection with the business combination and a preliminary proxy statement with respect to the shareholder meeting of Jaguar Global to vote on, among other things, the business combination. The Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet become effective. Jaguar Global’s shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read the Registration Statement, including the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, and when available, any amendments thereto, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and any other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed business combination, as these materials will contain important information about GLAAM, Jaguar Global and the proposed business combination. This press release does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the proposed business combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the proposed business combination will be mailed to shareholders of Jaguar Global as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Shareholders are also, or will be, able to obtain copies of the Registration Statement, the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, any amendments thereto, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC, without charge, once available, at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov, or upon written request to Jaguar Global at Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I, 601 Brickell Key Drive, Suite 700, Miami, FL 33131.Participants in Solicitation Jaguar Global and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from Jaguar Global’s shareholders with respect to the proposed business combination. A list of the names of Jaguar Global’s directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in Jaguar Global is contained in the Registration Statement, which was filed with the SEC and is available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. To the extent such holdings of Jaguar Global’s securities have changed since the filing of the Registration Statement, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC.Captivision, GLAAM and their respective directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Jaguar Global in connection with the proposed business combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed business combination is contained in the Registration Statement, which was filed with the SEC and is available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.No Offer or SolicitationThis press release shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination. This press release shall also not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.INVESTMENT IN ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SEC OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY NOR HAS ANY AUTHORITY PASSED UPON OR ENDORSED THE MERITS OF THE OFFERING OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.Contacts:Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I Media Contact Dukas Linden Public Relations for Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I +1 [email protected] Global Growth Corporation I Investor Relations ContactCody Slach and Jackie KeshnerGateway Group, Inc. +1 [email protected] Investor Relations ContactNakyung Kim THE [email protected]

GlobeNewswire

Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I and GLAAM Provide Updates on Proposed Business Combination

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jaguar-global-growth-corporation-glaam-120000491.html

d074f198-a024-356a-91fc-bad73b629456

BRX

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX) today announced that the Company will present at the BofA Securities 2023 Global Real Estate Conference on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 from 1:25 PM ET to 2:00 PM ET.Event: Brixmor Property Group Presentation at the BofA Securities 2023 Global Real Estate ConferenceWhen: 1:25 PM ET, Tuesday, September 12, 2023Live Webcast: BofA Securities 2023 Global Real Estate Conference under the Investors tab at www.brixmor.comA replay of the webcast will be available through December 12, 2023.Connect With BrixmorFor additional information, please visit https://www.brixmor.com;Follow Brixmor on:About Brixmor Property GroupBrixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 365 retail centers comprise approximately 65 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas.  The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision "to be the center of the communities we serve" and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers.  Brixmor is a proud real estate partner to over 5,000 retailers including The TJX Companies, The Kroger Co., Publix Super Markets and Ross Stores.Brixmor announces material information to its investors in SEC filings and press releases and on public conference calls, webcasts and the "Investors" page of its website at https://www.brixmor.com. The Company also uses social media to communicate with its investors and the public, and the information Brixmor posts on social media may be deemed material information. Therefore, Brixmor encourages investors and others interested in the Company to review the information that it posts on its website and on its social media channels.SAFE HARBOR LANGUAGEThis presentation may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding the performance of our business, our financial results, our liquidity and capital resources, and other non-historical statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "projects," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and in this report, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are accessible on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov. These factors include (1) changes in national, regional, and local economies, due to global events such as international military conflicts, international trade disputes, a foreign debt crisis, foreign currency volatility, or due to domestic issues, such as government policies and regulations, tariffs, energy prices, market dynamics, general economic contractions, rising interest rates, inflation, unemployment, or limited growth in consumer income or spending; (2) local real estate market conditions, including an oversupply of space in, or a reduction in demand for, properties similar to those in our Portfolio (defined hereafter); (3) competition from other available properties and e-commerce; (4) disruption and/or consolidation in the retail sector, the financial stability of our tenants, and the overall financial condition of large retailing companies, including their ability to pay rent and/or expense reimbursements that are due to us; (5) in the case of percentage rents, the sales volumes of our tenants; (6) increases in property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, which are relatively inflexible and generally do not decrease if revenue or occupancy decrease; (7) increases in the costs to repair, renovate, and re-lease space; (8) earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, damage from rising sea levels due to climate change, other natural disasters, epidemics and/or pandemics, civil unrest, terrorist acts, or acts of war, any of which may result in uninsured or underinsured losses; and (9) changes in laws and governmental regulations, including those governing usage, zoning, the environment, and taxes. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this report and in our other periodic filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except to the extent otherwise required by law.Story continuesBrixmor Property Group Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Brixmor Property Group) CisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brixmor-property-group-to-present-at-bofa-securities-2023-global-real-estate-conference-301912994.htmlSOURCE Brixmor Property Group Inc.

PR Newswire

Brixmor Property Group To Present At BofA Securities 2023 Global Real Estate Conference

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brixmor-property-group-present-bofa-200500681.html

21cbad72-936d-3b13-966d-af4db01fd760

BRY

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Berry (NASDAQ:BRY). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing. See our latest analysis for Berry Berry's Improving ProfitsIn business, profits are a key measure of success; and share prices tend to reflect earnings per share (EPS) performance. So a growing EPS generally brings attention to a company in the eyes of prospective investors. It's an outstanding feat for Berry to have grown EPS from US$0.065 to US$3.75 in just one year. While it's difficult to sustain growth at that level, it bodes well for the company's outlook for the future.One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. While revenue is looking a bit flat, the good news is EBIT margins improved by 27.3 percentage points to 32%, in the last twelve months. Which is a great look for the company.In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.earnings-and-revenue-historyFortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Berry's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.Are Berry Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?Investors are always searching for a vote of confidence in the companies they hold and insider buying is one of the key indicators for optimism on the market. That's because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right.Story continuesThe first bit of good news is that no Berry insiders reported share sales in the last twelve months. But the really good news is that Independent Director Rajath Shourie spent US$390k buying stock, at an average price of around US$7.79. Purchases like this can offer an insight into the faith of the company's management - and it seems to be all positive.The good news, alongside the insider buying, for Berry bulls is that insiders (collectively) have a meaningful investment in the stock. As a matter of fact, their holding is valued at US$15m. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. While their ownership only accounts for 2.4%, this is still a considerable amount at stake to encourage the business to maintain a strategy that will deliver value to shareholders.While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the big picture. The cherry on top is that the CEO, Fernando Araujo is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Berry, with market caps between US$400m and US$1.6b, is around US$3.5m.Berry offered total compensation worth US$2.6m to its CEO in the year to December 2022. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.Should You Add Berry To Your Watchlist?Berry's earnings have taken off in quite an impressive fashion. The cherry on top is that insiders own a bunch of shares, and one has been buying more. These factors seem to indicate the company's potential and that it has reached an inflection point. We'd suggest Berry belongs near the top of your watchlist. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for Berry (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you need to be mindful of.The good news is that Berry is not the only growth stock with insider buying. Here's a list of them... with insider buying in the last three months!Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Is Now The Time To Put Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) On Your Watchlist?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/now-time-put-berry-nasdaq-163844253.html

9aa081ba-a685-389b-af0e-168d38f03991

BRY

Berry's (NASDAQ:BRY) stock is up by a considerable 20% over the past three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study Berry's ROE in this article.ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders. Check out our latest analysis for Berry How To Calculate Return On Equity?The formula for ROE is:Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' EquitySo, based on the above formula, the ROE for Berry is:37% = US$284m ÷ US$761m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.37 in profit.What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.Berry's Earnings Growth And 37% ROEFirst thing first, we like that Berry has an impressive ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 28% which is quite remarkable. Under the circumstances, Berry's considerable five year net income growth of 34% was to be expected.Story continuesWe then compared Berry's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 28% in the same 5-year period.past-earnings-growthEarnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for BRY? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report. Is Berry Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?The LTM (or last twelve month) payout ratio for Berry is 33%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 67%. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Berry is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.Moreover, Berry is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of five years of paying a dividend. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 41% over the next three years.SummaryIn total, we are pretty happy with Berry's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Is Berry Corporation's (NASDAQ:BRY) Latest Stock Performance A Reflection Of Its Financial Health?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/berry-corporations-nasdaq-bry-latest-100108730.html

40522cf1-b021-34f3-a5f3-4f7ea8f51b63

BSBK

TEANECK, N.J., May 24, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bogota Financial Corp. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: BSBK), the holding company for Bogota Savings Bank (the "Bank"), announced that it has received regulatory approval for the repurchase of up to 249,920 shares of its common stock, which is approximately 5% of its outstanding common stock (excluding shares held by Bogota Financial, MHC), as previously approved by the board of directors of the Company. This is the Company’s fourth stock repurchase program.Shares may be repurchased in open market or private transactions or pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Commission.The repurchase program has no expiration date and may be suspended, terminated or modified at any time for any reason. The stock repurchase program does not obligate the Company to purchase any particular number of shares, and there is no guarantee as to the exact number of shares to be repurchased by the Company. The timing and amount of any repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including the availability of stock, general market conditions, the trading price of the stock, alternative uses for capital, and the Company’s financial performance. Open market purchases will be made in accordance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other applicable legal requirements.About Bogota Financial Corp.Bogota Financial Corp. is a Maryland corporation organized as the mid-tier holding company of Bogota Savings Bank and is the majority-owned subsidiary of Bogota Financial, MHC. Bogota Savings Bank is a New Jersey chartered stock savings bank that has served the banking needs of its customers in northern and central New Jersey since 1893. It operates from six offices located in Bogota, Hasbrouck Heights, Newark, Oak Ridge, Parsippany and Teaneck, New Jersey and operates a loan production office in Spring Lake, New Jersey.Story continuesForward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains certain forward-looking statements about the Company and the Bank. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated future events and can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and "intend" or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results include increased competitive pressures, changes in the interest rate environment, inflation, general economic conditions or conditions within the securities markets, changes in the quality of our loan and security portfolios, increases in non-performing and classified loans, ongoing effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and legislative, accounting and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business in which the Company and the Bank are engaged.The Company undertakes no obligation to revise these forward-looking statements or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230524005877/en/ContactsFor Bogota Financial Corp.:Joseph CoccaroPresident and Chief Executive Officer(201) 862-0660

Business Wire

Bogota Financial Corp. Adopts and Receives Regulatory Approval of Fourth Repurchase Program

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bogota-financial-corp-adopts-receives-201000628.html

5241d47f-8898-3fbc-9b30-cbe944218c36

BSBK

TEANECK, N.J., July 28, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bogota Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BSBK) (the "Company"), the holding company for Bogota Savings Bank (the "Bank"), reported net income for the three months ended June 30, 2023 of $857,000, or $0.07 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $1.6 million, or $0.12 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The Company reported net income for the six months ended June 30, 2023 of $1.8 million, or $0.14 per basic and diluted shares, compared to net income of $3.0 million, or $0.22 per basic and diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2022.On October 3, 2022, the Company announced it had received regulatory approval for the repurchase of up to 556,631 shares of its common stock, which was approximately 10% of its then outstanding common stock (excluding shares held by Bogota Financial, MHC). As of June 30, 2023, all shares under this program have been repurchased, including the repurchase of 196,259 shares of stock during the six months ended June 30, 2023 at a cost of $2.1 million.On May 24, 2023, the Company announced it had received regulatory approval for the repurchase of up to 249,920 shares of its common stock, which was approximately 5% of its then outstanding common stock (excluding shares held by Bogota Financial, MHC). As of June 30, 2023, 20,300 shares have been repurchased under this program at a cost of $165,000.Other Financial Highlights:Total assets decreased $20.1 million, or 2.1%, to $931.0 million at June 30, 2023 from $951.1 million at December 31, 2022, due to a decrease in loans and securities, offset by an increase in cash and cash equivalents.Cash and cash equivalents increased $12.2 million, or 72.3%, to $29.0 million at June 30, 2023 from $16.8 million at December 31, 2022.Net loans decreased $13.1 million, or 1.8%, to $705.9 million at June 30, 2023 from $719.0 million at December 31, 2022.Total deposits were $656.6 million, decreasing $44.9 million, or 6.4%, as compared to $701.4 million at December 31, 2022, primarily due to a $67.6 million decrease in checking, savings and money market accounts , offset by an $18.6 million increase in noninterest-bearing deposits and a $4.2 million increase in certificates of deposit. The average rate paid on deposits at June 30, 2023 increased 90 basis points to 2.72% at June 30, 2023 from 1.82% at December 31, 2022 due to higher interest rates and a larger percentage of deposits consisting of higher-costing certificates of deposit.Federal Home Loan Bank advances increased $24.9 million, or 24.4% to $127.2 million at June 30, 2023 from $102.3 million as of December 31, 2022.Annualized return on average assets was 0.40% for the six-month period ended June 30, 2023 compared to 0.73% for six-month period ended June 30, 2022.Annualized return on average equity was 2.68% for the six-month period ended June 30, 2023 compared to 4.26% for the six-month period ended June 30, 2022.Upon adoption of the CECL method of calculating the allowance for credit losses on January 1, 2023, the Bank recorded a one-time decrease, net of tax, in retained earnings of $220,000, an increase to the allowance for credit losses of $157,000 and an increase in the reserve for unfunded liabilities of $152,000.Story continuesJoseph Coccaro, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Higher interest rates along with an inverted yield curve have continued to impact our net interest margin. Our net income and return on average assets for the first six months of 2023 are disappointing when compared to 2022 results due to the increase in deposit costs outpacing our ability to produce offsetting growth in loan revenue."The Bank continues to be prudent in its lending and interest rate risk management. We remain well capitalized with substantial reserve sources of liquidity. We are currently working on our new branch in Upper Saddle River, NJ, which will be the Bank’s seventh stand-alone branch. The Bank anticipates this new office will open in September."Mr. Coccaro further stated, "Our balance sheet is well positioned for the balance of the year and we will focus on delivering excellent services to our customers. We continue to repurchase shares of our common stock which will drive additional shareholder value."Income Statement AnalysisComparison of Operating Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2022Net income decreased by $785,000, or 47.8%, to $857,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $1.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $1.4 million in net interest income offset by a decrease of $225,000 in the provision for credit losses and a decrease of $410,000 in income tax expense.Interest income increased $2.5 million, or 36.1%, from $6.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to $9.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 due to increases in the average balances of and higher yields on interest earning assets.Interest income on cash and cash equivalents increased $121,000, or 432.1%, to $149,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $28,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 due a 425 basis point increase in the average yield from 0.55% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 4.80% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 due to the higher interest rate environment. This was offset by an $8.3 million decrease in the average balance to $12.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $20.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, reflecting the use of excess liquidity to fund loan originations.Interest income on loans increased $2.3 million, or 39.2%, to $8.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 compared to $5.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 due primarily to $118.5 million increase in the average balance to $712.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $593.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and a 64 basis point increase in the average yield from 3.95% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 4.59% for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was offset by a $347,000 reserve for nonaccrual interest on a delinquent construction loan.Interest income on securities increased $38,000, or 3.9%, to $1.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $979,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 due primarily due to a 63 basis point increase in the average yield from 2.15% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 2.78% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 offset by a $36.1 million decrease in the average balance to $146.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $182.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022.Interest expense increased $3.9 million, or 324.0%, from $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to $5.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 due to increases in the average balance and higher costs on interest -bearing liabilities.Interest expense on interest-bearing deposits increased $3.4 million, or 395.5%, to $4.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $850,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The increase was due to a 209 basis point increase in the average cost of deposits to 2.68% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from 0.59% for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in the average cost of deposits was due to the higher interest rate environment and an increase in the average balances of certificates of deposit of $139.4 million to $494.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $354.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022.Interest expense on Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings increased $547,000, or 153.5%, from $356,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to $903,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was due to an increase in the average cost of 142 basis points to 3.01% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from 1.59% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 due to the new borrowings at higher rates. The increase was also due to an increase in the average balance of borrowings of $34.0 million to $120.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $86.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022.Net interest income decreased $1.4 million, or 24.8%, to $4.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $5.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The decrease reflected a 116 basis point decrease in our net interest rate spread to 1.57% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from 2.73% for the three months ended June 30, 2022. Our net interest margin decreased 89 basis points to 1.96% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from 2.85% for the three months ended June 30, 2022.We recorded a $125,000 recovery for credit losses for the three months ended June 30, 2023 compared to a $100,000 provision for loan losses for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022. The Bank had a decrease in the loan portfolio and continues to have a low level of delinquent and non-accrual loans in the portfolio, as well as no charge-offs.Non-interest income increased by $29,000, or 11.7%, to $283,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $254,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022. Gain on sale of loans increased $16,000 and bank-owned life insurance income increased $21,000, or 12.2%, due higher balances during 2023. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in fee and service charges and other income of $7,000.For the three months ended June 30, 2023, non-interest expense increased $38,000, or 1.1%, over the comparable 2022 period. Salaries and employee benefits increased $202,000, or 9.6%, due to a higher employee count. Director fees decreased $44,000, or 21.7%, due to lower pension expense. FDIC insurance premiums increased $73,000 or 135.4%, due to a higher assessment rate in 2023. The increase in advertising expense of $5,000, or 5.4%, was due to additional promotions for branch locations and new promotions on deposit and loan products. Data processing expense decreased $96,000 or 28.9%, professional fees decreased $37,000 or 24.7% and other expense decreased $81,000, or 25.2% due to lower deferred compensation expense and other various expenses.Income tax expense decreased $410,000, or 65.8%, to $213,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $623,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The increase was due to $1.2 million of lower taxable income. The effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 were 19.91% and 27.51%, respectively.Comparison of Operating Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2022Net income decreased by $1.2 million, or 39.2%, to $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $3.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $2.0 million in net interest income offset by a decrease of $225,000 in the provision for credit losses and a decrease of $637,000 in income tax expense.Interest income increased $5.2 million, or 39.7%, from $13.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to $18.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 due to increases in the average balances of and higher yields on interest-earning assets.Interest income on cash and cash equivalents increased $197,000, or 345.6%, to $254,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $57,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022 due a 457 basis point increase in the average yield from 0.25% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to 4.82% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 due to the higher interest rate environment. This was offset by a $35.4 million decrease in the average balance to $10.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $46.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, reflecting the use of excess liquidity to fund loan originations and purchase investment securities.Interest income on loans increased $4.5 million, or 39.1%, to $15.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to $11.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 due primarily to a $132.3 million increase in the average balance to $715.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $582.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and a 53 basis point increase in the average yield from 3.92% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to 4.45% for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was offset by a $617,000 reserve for nonaccrual interest on a delinquent construction loan.Interest income on securities increased $476,000, or 29.1%, to $2.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $1.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 due primarily to a 70 basis point increase in the average yield from 2.04% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to 2.74% for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was offset by a $6.7 million decrease in the average balance of securities to $154.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $160.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.Interest expense increased $7.2 million, or 306.7%, from $2.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to $9.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 due to increases in the average balance of and higher costs on interest-bearing liabilities.Interest expense on interest-bearing deposits increased $6.3 million, or 372.9%, to $7.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $1.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase was due to a 187 basis point increase in the average cost of interest-bearing deposits to 2.46% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from 0.59% for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in the average cost of deposits was due to the higher interest rate environment and an increase in the average balances of certificates of deposit of $145.8 million to $498.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $352.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.Interest expense on Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings increased $994,000, or 144.9%, from $686,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to $1.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was due to an increase in the average cost of 155 basis points to 3.19% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from 1.64% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 due to the new borrowings at higher rates. The increase was also due to an increase in the average balance of borrowings of $21.7 million to $106.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $84.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.Net interest income decreased $2.0 million, or 18.6%, to $8.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $10.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase reflected a 100 basis point decrease in our net interest rate spread to 1.61% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from 2.61% for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Our net interest margin decreased 74 basis points to 2.01% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from 2.75% for the six months ended June 30, 2022.We recorded a $125,000 recovery of credit losses for the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to a $100,000 provision for loan losses for the six-month period ended June 30, 2022. The Bank had a decrease in the loan portfolio as well as no charge-offs. As of January 1, 2023 the Bank adopted CECL and recorded a one-time adjustment of $157,000 to the allowance for credit losses.Non-interest income decreased by $31,000, or 5.3%, to $567,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $598,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Gain on sale of loans decreased $58,000, or 66.2% as loan originations were lower in 2023. Other income decreased $33,000 or 34.0%. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in income from bank-owned life insurance of $51,000, or 15.6%, due to higher balances during 2023.For the six months ended June 30, 2023, non-interest expense increased $14,000, or 0.2%, over the comparable 2022 period. Salaries and employee benefits increased $301,000, or 7.2%, due to a higher employee count. Director fees decreased $100,000, or 23.8%, due to lower pension expense. FDIC insurance premiums increased $79,000 or 73.3% due to a higher assessment rate in 2023. Data processing decreased $97,000 or 15.9%, due to the timing of an invoice. The increase in advertising expense of $31,000, or 14.6%, was due to additional promotions for branch locations and new promotions on deposit and loan products. Other expense decreased $223,000, or 34.7%, due to lower deferred compensation expense and other various expenses.Income tax expense decreased $637,000, or 55.5%, to $511,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase was due to $1.9 million, or 43.7%, of lower taxable income. The effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 were 21.65% and 27.40%, respectively.Balance Sheet AnalysisTotal assets were $931.0 million at June 30, 2023, representing an decrease of $20.1 million, or 2.1%, from December 31, 2022. Cash and cash equivalents increased $12.2 million during the period primarily due to loan payments received and proceeds from the call and maturity of securities. Net loans decreased $13.1 million, or 1.8%, due to $45.0 million in repayments, partially offset by new production of $31.9 million, consisting of mainly residential real estate loans and home equity loans. Securities held to maturity decreased $7.6 million or 9.8% and securities available for sale decreased $13.9 million or 16.3%, due to the repayments of mortgage-backed securities and maturities of corporate bonds.Delinquent loans increased $11.3 million during the six-month period ended June 30, 2023, finishing at $12.8 million or 1.82% of total loans. The increase was due to one commercial construction loan located in Totowa New Jersey with a balance of $10.9 million with a loan to value ratio of 46%. During the same timeframe, non-performing assets increased to $12.9 million and were 1.35% of total assets at June 30, 2023. The Company’s allowance for credit losses was 0.39% of total loans and 21.04% of non-performing loans at June 30, 2023 compared to 0.36% of total loans and 136.3% of non-performing loans at December 31, 2022.Total liabilities decreased $19.6 million, or 2.4%, to $791.8 million mainly due to a $44.9 million decrease in deposits, offset by a $24.9 million increase in borrowings. Total deposits decreased $44.9 million, or 6.4%, to $656.6 million at June 30, 2023 from $701.4 million at December 31, 2022. The decrease in deposits reflected decreases in NOW, money market and savings accounts, which decreased by $67.6 million from $170.2 million at December 31, 2022 to $102.5 million at June 30, 2023, offset by an increase in certificate of deposit accounts, which increased by $4.2 million to $496.8 million from $492.6 million at December 31, 2022. At June 30, 2023, uninsured deposits represented 8.4% of the Bank’s total deposits. Federal Home Loan Bank advances increased $24.9 million, or 24.4%, due to new advances for loan funding and to replace the decreasing level of deposits. Total borrowing capacity at the Federal Home Loan Bank is $330.4 million of which $127.0 million is advanced.Stockholders’ equity decreased $460,000 to $139.2 million, due to increased accumulated other comprehensive loss for securities available for sale of $438,000 and the repurchase of 216,559 shares of stock during the quarter at a cost of $2.2 million, offset by net income of $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. At June 30, 2023, the Company’s ratio of stockholders’ equity adjusted for AOCI to total assets adjusted for the allowance was 15.96%, compared to 17.08% at June 30, 2022.About Bogota Financial Corp.Bogota Financial Corp. is a Maryland corporation organized as the mid-tier holding company of Bogota Savings Bank and is the majority-owned subsidiary of Bogota Financial, MHC. Bogota Savings Bank is a New Jersey chartered stock savings bank that has served the banking needs of its customers in northern and central New Jersey since 1893. It operates from six offices located in Bogota, Hasbrouck Heights, Newark, Oak Ridge, Parsippany and Teaneck, New Jersey and operates a loan production office in Spring Lake, New Jersey.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains certain forward-looking statements about the Company and the Bank. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated future events and can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and "intend" or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results include increased competitive pressures, changes in the interest rate environment, inflation, general economic conditions or conditions within the securities markets, potential recessionary conditions, real estate market values in the Bank’s lending area changes in the quality of our loan and security portfolios, increases in non-performing and classified loans, changes in liquidity, including the size and composition of our deposit portfolio, including the percentage of uninsured deposits in the portfolio, monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a failure in or breach of the Company’s operational or security systems or infrastructure, including cyberattacks, the failure to maintain current technologies, failure to retain or attract employees and legislative, accounting and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business in which the Company and the Bank are engaged.The Company undertakes no obligation to revise these forward-looking statements or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.BOGOTA FINANCIAL CORP.CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION(unaudited)As ofAs ofJune 30, 2023December 31, 2022AssetsCash and due from banks$11,182,811$8,160,028Interest-bearing deposits in other banks17,830,5348,680,889Cash and cash equivalents29,013,34516,840,917Securities available for sale, at fair value71,214,60385,100,578Securities held to maturity (fair value of $61,757,095 and $70,699,651, respectively)69,809,58077,427,309Loans, net of allowance of $2,785,949 and $2,578,174, respectively705,946,085719,025,762Premises and equipment, net7,794,1477,884,335Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) stock and other restricted securities6,796,5005,490,900Accrued interest receivable3,530,1193,966,651Core deposit intangibles235,703267,272Bank-owned life insurance30,582,52530,206,325Other assets6,077,6434,888,954Total Assets$931,000,250$951,099,003Liabilities and EquityNon-interest bearing deposits$57,126,460$38,653,349Interest bearing deposits599,430,335662,758,100Total deposits656,556,795701,411,449FHLB advances-short term21,000,00059,000,000FHLB advances-long term106,244,41143,319,254Advance payments by borrowers for taxes and insurance3,678,5763,174,661Other liabilities4,321,9904,534,516Total liabilities791,801,772811,439,880Stockholders’ EquityPreferred stock $0.01 par value 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022——Common stock $0.01 par value, 30,000,000 shares authorized, 13,482,457 issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 and 13,699,016 at December 31, 2022134,824136,989Additional paid-in capital57,301,00259,099,476Retained earnings93,383,88191,756,673Unearned ESOP shares (423,232 shares at June 30, 2023 and 436,495 shares at December 31, 2022)(4,972,400)(5,123,002)Accumulated other comprehensive loss(6,648,829)(6,211,013)Total stockholders’ equity139,198,478139,659,123Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$931,000,250$951,099,003BOGOTA FINANCIAL CORP.CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME(unaudited)Three Months EndedJune 30,Six months EndedJune 30,2023202220232022Interest incomeLoans$8,141,719$5,848,522$15,841,157$11,385,602SecuritiesTaxable996,338932,7142,047,5981,569,835Tax-exempt20,23246,28265,13467,278Other interest-earning assets248,91483,682470,503167,495Total interest income9,407,2036,911,20018,424,39213,190,210Interest expenseDeposits4,210,984849,8087,925,9811,675,992FHLB advances902,839356,2031,680,193686,036Total interest expense5,113,8231,206,0119,606,1742,362,028Net interest income4,293,3805,705,1898,818,21810,828,182(Recovery) provision for credit losses(125,000)100,000(125,000)100,000Net interest income after (recovery) provision for credit losses4,418,3805,605,1898,943,21810,728,182Non-interest incomeFees and service charges45,70050,47897,85289,796Gain (loss) on sale of loans16,150(217)29,37586,913Bank-owned life insurance190,147169,449376,200325,442Other31,47934,00763,32895,989Total non-interest income283,476253,717566,755598,140Non-interest expenseSalaries and employee benefits2,301,2362,098,8974,463,6054,162,244Occupancy and equipment358,757342,381741,544686,810FDIC insurance assessment127,11954,000187,119108,000Data processing235,095330,840512,192609,187Advertising96,08391,145243,383212,290Director fees159,338203,534318,675418,325Professional fees114,018151,490263,268295,753Other240,562321,585419,770642,538Total non-interest expense3,632,2083,593,8727,149,5567,135,147Income before income taxes1,069,6482,265,0342,360,4174,191,175Income tax expense213,007623,027511,0691,148,271Net income$856,641$1,642,007$1,849,348$3,042,904Earnings per Share - basic$0.07$0.12$0.14$0.22Earnings per Share - diluted$0.07$0.12$0.14$0.22Weighted average shares outstanding - basic13,079,30213,662,22213,137,52213,760,002Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted13,081,15813,701,67413,162,05613,800,168BOGOTA FINANCIAL CORP.SELECTED RATIOS(unaudited)At or For the Three MonthsEnded June 30,At or For the Six MonthsEnded June 30,2023202220232022Performance Ratios (1):Return on average assets (2)0.37%0.95%0.40%0.73%Return on average equity (3)2.46%5.56%2.68%4.26%Interest rate spread (4)1.57%2.73%1.61%2.61%Net interest margin (5)1.96%2.85%2.01%2.75%Efficiency ratio (6)79.36%60.31%76.18%62.44%Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities116.72%120.42%117.09%121.36%Net loans to deposits107.52%103.19%107.52%103.19%Average equity to assets (7)14.94%16.05%14.82%16.05%Capital Ratios:Tier 1 capital to average assets15.96%17.08%Asset Quality Ratios:Allowance for credit losses as a percent of total loans0.39%0.36%Allowance for credit losses as a percent of non-performing loans21.04%120.83%Net charge-offs to average outstanding loans during the period0.00%0.00%Non-performing loans as a percent of total loans1.87%0.29%Non-performing assets as a percent of total assets1.42%0.21%(1)Performance ratios are annualized.(2)Represents net income divided by average total assets.(3)Represents net income divided by average stockholders' equity.(4)Represents the difference between the weighted average yield on average interest-earning assets and the weighted average cost of average interest-bearing liabilities. Tax exempt income yield is reported on a tax equivalent basis using a combined federal and state marginal tax rate of 27.5%.(5)Represents net interest income as a percent of average interest-earning assets. Tax exempt income is reported on a tax equivalent basis using a combined federal and state marginal tax rate of 27.5%.(6)Represents non-interest expenses divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income.(7)Represents average stockholders' equity divided by average total assets.LOANSLoans are summarized as follows at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022:June 30,2023December 31,2022Real estate:(unaudited)Residential First Mortgage$461,055,826$466,100,627Commercial and Multi-Family Real Estate167,768,947162,338,669Construction48,678,33361,825,478Commercial and Industrial3,692,4251,684,189Consumer:Home Equity and Other Consumer27,536,50429,654,973Total loans708,732,035721,603,936Allowance for credit losses(2,785,950)(2,578,174)Net loans$705,946,085$719,025,762The following tables set forth the distribution of total deposit accounts, by account type, at the dates indicated.At June 30,At December 31,20232022AmountPercentAverageRateAmountPercentAverageRate(Dollars in thousands)(unaudited)Noninterest bearing demand accounts$57,253,4538.72%—%$38,653,4725.52%—%NOW accounts34,344,3055.231.5482,720,21411.790.88Money market accounts20,405,9603.110.3030,037,1064.280.32Savings accounts47,790,7107.281.7957,407,9558.180.49Certificates of deposit496,762,36775.663.31...492,592,70270.232.37Total$656,556,795100.00%2.72%$701,411,449100.00%1.82%Average Balance Sheets and Related Yields and RatesThe following tables present information regarding average balances of assets and liabilities, the total dollar amounts of interest income and dividends from average interest-earning assets, the total dollar amounts of interest expense on average interest-bearing liabilities, and the resulting annualized average yields and costs. The yields and costs for the periods indicated are derived by dividing income or expense by the average balances of assets or liabilities, respectively, for the periods presented. Average balances have been calculated using daily balances. Nonaccrual loans are included in average balances only. Loan fees are included in interest income on loans and are not material.Three Months Ended June 30,20232022AverageBalanceInterest andDividendsYield/CostAverageBalanceInterest andDividendsYield/Cost (3)(Dollars in thousands)Assets:(unaudited)Cash and cash equivalents$12,449$1494.80%$20,723$280.55%Loans712,2018,1424.59%593,7055,8493.95%Securities146,2251,0172.78%182,3389792.15%Other interest-earning assets6,358996.26%4,891554.53%Total interest-earning assets877,2339,4074.30%801,6576,9113.46%Non-interest-earning assets54,15654,038Total assets$931,389$855,695Liabilities and equity:NOW and money market accounts$88,256$3551.61%$158,552$2170.55%Savings accounts48,875920.75%66,095430.26%Certificates of deposit493,9863,7643.06%354,6005900.67%Total interest-bearing deposits631,1174,2112.68%579,2478500.59%Federal Home Loan Bank advances (1)120,4859033.01%86,4453561.59%Total interest-bearing liabilities751,6025,1142.73%665,6921,2060.73%Non-interest-bearing deposits38,84138,132Other non-interest-bearing liabilities1,7685,556Total liabilities792,211709,380Total equity139,178146,315Total liabilities and equity$931,389$855,695Net interest income$4,293$5,705Interest rate spread (2)1.57%2.73%Net interest margin (3)1.96%2.85%Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities116.72%120.42%1.Cash flow hedges are used to manage interest rate risk. During the three months ended June 30, 2023, the net effect on interest expense on the Federal Home Loan Bank advances was a reduced expense of $92,000.2.Interest rate spread represents the difference between the weighted average yield on interest-earning assets and the weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.3.Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.Six Months Ended June 30,20232022AverageBalanceInterest andDividendsYield/CostAverageBalanceInterest andDividendsYield/Cost (3)(Dollars in thousands)(unaudited)Assets:Cash and cash equivalents$10,634$2544.82%$45,991$570.25%Loans715,06615,8414.45%582,82611,3863.92%Securities154,0492,1132.74%160,6881,6372.04%Other interest-earning assets5,8512167.40%4,8641104.54%Total interest-earning assets885,60018,4244.18%794,36913,1903.33%Non-interest-earning assets54,48252,429Total assets$940,082$846,798Liabilities and equity:NOW and money market accounts$100,419$7351.48%$151,044$4370.58%Savings accounts51,2331620.64%66,338860.26%Certificates of deposit498,6527,0292.84%352,8241,1530.66%Total interest-bearing deposits650,3047,9262.46%570,2061,6760.59%Federal Home Loan Bank advances (1)106,0611,6803.19%84,3746861.64%Total interest-bearing liabilities756,3659,6062.56%654,5802,3620.73%Non-interest-bearing deposits38,26640,545Other non-interest-bearing liabilities6,1466,755Total liabilities800,777701,880Total equity139,305144,918Total liabilities and equity$940,082$846,798Net interest income$8,818$10,828Interest rate spread (2)1.61%2.61%Net interest margin (3)2.01%2.75%Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities117.09%121.36%1.Cash flow hedges are used to manage interest rate risk. During the six months ended June 30, 2023, the net effect on interest expense on the Federal Home Loan Bank advances was a reduced expense of $139,000.2.Interest rate spread represents the difference between the weighted average yield on interest-earning assets and the weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.3.Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.Rate/Volume AnalysisThe following table sets forth the effects of changing rates and volumes on net interest income. The rate column shows the effects attributable to changes in rate (changes in rate multiplied by prior volume). The volume column shows the effects attributable to changes in volume (changes in volume multiplied by prior rate). The net column represents the sum of the prior columns. Changes attributable to changes in both rate and volume that cannot be segregated have been allocated proportionally based on the changes due to rate and the changes due to volume.Three Months Ended June 30,2023 Compared to ThreeMonths Ended June 30, 2022Six Months Ended June 30,2023 Compared to Six MonthsEnded June 30, 2022Increase (Decrease) Due toIncrease (Decrease) Due toVolumeRateNetVolumeRateNet(In thousands)Interest income:(unaudited)Cash and cash equivalents$(81)$202$121$(162)$359$197Loans receivable1,2661,0272,2932,7921,6634,455Securities(911)94938(191)667476Other interest earning assets1925442680106Total interest-earning assets2932,2032,4962,4652,7695,234Interest expense:NOW and money market accounts(603)741138(430)728298Savings accounts(73)12249(58)13476Certificates of deposit3152,8593,1746545,2225,876Federal Home Loan Bank advances167380547213781994Total interest-bearing liabilities(194)4,1023,9083796,8657,244Net increase (decrease) in net interest income$487$(1,899)$(1,412)$2,086$(4,096)$(2,010)View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230728416096/en/ContactsJoseph Coccaro – President & CEO, 201-862-0660 ext. 1110

Business Wire

Bogota Financial Corp. Reports Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bogota-financial-corp-reports-results-131000758.html

2eca9113-dc41-3398-9fa3-45a40da04906

BSIG

ParticipantsMelody Huang; Senior VP & Director of Finance and IR; BrightSphere Investment Group Inc.Suren S. Rana; CEO, President & Director; BrightSphere Investment Group Inc.John Joseph Dunn; Associate; Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research DivisionKenneth S. Lee; VP of Equity Research; RBC Capital Markets, Research DivisionMichael J. Cyprys; Executive Director and Senior Research Analyst; Morgan Stanley, Research DivisionPresentationOperatorLadies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the BrightSphere Investment Group Earnings Conference Call and Webcast for the Second Quarter 2023. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this call is being recorded today, Thursday, August 3, 2023, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Melody Huang, SVP Director of Finance, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.Melody HuangGood morning, and welcome to BrightSphere's conference call to discuss our results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. Before we get started, please note that we may make forward-looking statements about our business and financial performance. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties appears in our SEC filings, including the Form 8-K filed today containing the earnings release, our 2022 Form 10-K and our Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2023. Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on assumptions as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them as a result of new information or future events. We may also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information about any non-GAAP measures referenced, including a reconciliation of those measures to GAAP measures, can be found on our website, along with the slides that we will use as part of today's discussion. Finally, nothing here shall be deemed to be an offer of solicitation to buy any investment products. Suren Rana, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will lead the call. And now I'm pleased to turn the call over to Suren.Story continuesSuren S. RanaThanks, Melody. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. As usual, I'll start off with the main highlights on Slide 5 of the deck, and then we can jump into Q&A. So for Q2 '23, we reported ENI per share of $0.28 compared to $0.41 in the second quarter of 2022. When compared to $0.28 in the first quarter of '23, the drop in earnings compared to a year ago was primarily driven by higher OpEx due to the impact of foreign currency changes, inflation and our ongoing investment in growth initiatives and operational infrastructure. Acadian's investment performance continues to be strong. As of June 30, '23, 81%, 81% and 90% of strategies by revenue [to] beat their benchmarks over the prior 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively. We reported modestly positive net flows with $0.1 billion of net inflows, and it was our fourth straight quarter of positive net flows. At the same time, our sales pipeline remains strong. We continue to be on track to execute on our growth initiatives. Acadian's equity alternatives platform is off to a promising start. The investment track record is building well after we seeded the platform a couple of quarters ago. On systematic credits, the team continues to build out the model and infrastructure. We expect to start investing in seed capital in the strategy in Q4 of this year. Turning to capital management. We had a cash balance of $141 million as of June 30, '23. Acadian has continued to pay down its revolving facility and ended the quarter with an outstanding balance of $38 million compared to $87 million at the end of the last quarter. Like in prior years, we expect the facility to be paid down fully by year-end. As our business continues to generate strong free cash flow, we expect to continue deploying capital to support our organic growth and to buy back stock, whenever opportunities come up. Our long-term strategy remains the same. We will continue to invest in our core capabilities and leverage our unique Quant platform to grow and expand into new areas. We will continue using our free cash flow to support organic growth and to buy back stock, and we remain focused on maximizing shareholder value. Now let me turn the call back to the operator. I'm happy to answer questions at this point.Question and Answer SessionOperator(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Morgan Cyprys (sic) [Michael Cyprys] from Morgan Stanley.Michael J. CyprysMaybe just on -- kicking off on buybacks. I don't think I saw any in the quarter. So just hoping you could update us on just your latest thoughts there and how you're thinking about opportunities there to repurchase shares. Is there just any sort of limitations in place right now around available windows that may have prohibited you in the quarter? And when do you think you might have a window begin to open up again as you look out?Suren S. RanaMike, yes. I guess no buybacks in the last quarter either. We do have cash on our balance sheet as you've noticed. So -- and the uses are (inaudible). So no change really in our approach but uses are to support our organic growth, which we've already laid out the near-term plans. And the rest of it is really toward buyback when we have windows available. We don't know yet when we might have that. We're probably looking out at least a couple of quarters before we can (inaudible) any buybacks.Michael J. CyprysGreat. And then just maybe a follow-up question on the institutional pipeline. Maybe you could just update us, elaborate a bit on how that looks today versus last quarter. And maybe you can give us a little bit of flavor for the types of strategies that you're seeing in the pipeline as well.Suren S. RanaYes. Thanks, (inaudible). Yes, the pipeline continues to be strong and healthy as we reported last quarter. There were some delays by a couple of weeks -- 3 weeks as we approached summer. But generally, things are moving through the pipeline. July was good. I guess last quarter, as I said, it was just modestly positive, but we had a good July. So hopefully, that momentum continues. And there's a variety of strategies. As you know, the firm overall has a large number of strategies. So we're pretty diversified, and that reflects in the pipeline, too. So it's across a variety of strategies, including small cap international, there is interest in Long-Short as well, enhanced versions of various strategies. So it's pretty robust. We got sales from global equity from all country ex U.S. So hopefully, that gives you a flavor.OperatorOur next question comes from John Dunn from Evercore ISI.John Joseph DunnI had a question about the fee rate maybe in the back half of the year. Just with kind of like emerging markets down so far in the quarter and U.S. up a little bit, what do you think like the trajectory of the fee rate might look like?Suren S. RanaYes. Our fee rate is affected a lot by the mix. So it's hard to tell. But my best guess would be we continue to be at around the 38 bps in the near term where we are. Emerging markets has a higher fee rate. And as you know, U.S. markets, at least in the last couple of quarters, beat the emerging market indices, but there are other factors still. We're getting some higher fee inflows and losing lower fee outflows. So the result, we have 38 bps now compared to 37 bps a year ago. So I would say we probably stay put here. Longer term, there are things, particularly our initiatives, for example, where we have higher fee strategies that would hopefully pull that fee rate higher. But at least in the near term, I would -- my best guess would be we stay around here.John Joseph DunnGot you. And then just on G&A in the second half. I think that generally, the expense ratios probably go down from here. But in terms of dollars, where do you see fixed comp and G&A going over the next two quarters?Suren S. RanaYes, staying more or less at this level. In the last few quarters, as I mentioned in my remarks, we have invested in our operational infrastructure. Over the last couple of quarters, we also have invested in the new initiatives. We've added to the headcount, we've added to the data, et cetera. So that -- we've done a fair bit and we probably have also built up some scale as we have done that. And we've -- some of the OpEx has increased because of inflation, as I said earlier, in terms of just the higher cost of data and comp increase for -- to help folks with inflation. And there has been some temporary things as well like the ForEx impact. Last year, we had a benefit of the ForEx impact. This year, it went the other way. So some of that should go away. But I would say, basically, we're probably -- in terms of dollars, we'll probably stay at this level more or less.OperatorYour next question comes from Kenneth Lee from RBC.Kenneth S. LeeJust at a high level, more broadly, I wonder if you could just talk about what you're seeing in terms of client sentiment or positioning? And then perhaps maybe some kind of indication of what that potential implications for organic growth over the near term?Suren S. RanaYes. Thanks, Ken. Yes, as you know, we're basically primarily institutional business. So our clients and the consultants tend to have longer-term views with the sales cycles often going in 9 to 12 months. So it doesn't change that much quarter-to-quarter. As I said earlier, we've seen the pipeline is good. We were seeing interest across a number of strategies. So that's really good. They also don't see much of any kind of exodus from any particular strategies or any groups of strategies. So that's good as well. Maybe one exception I would say is that in terms of the outflows that we had a good part was still from the managed vol group of strategies, maybe that's probably one area where we saw some clients take a position that in the trending data rewarding market, maybe they were -- the cut down some exposure to the managed vol. Longer term, of course, our clients believe that manage vol strategies really for the risk adjusted return is better than many others. But that's where I would say maybe we had some directional decisions. But other than that, really clients want to invest, and they're taking the meetings, and the pipeline is good. So we're cautiously optimistic.OperatorThis concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference call back over to Suren Rana.Suren S. RanaThank you. I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time. Look forward to chatting next quarter.

Thomson Reuters StreetEvents

Q2 2023 Brightsphere Investment Group Inc Earnings Call

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/q2-2023-brightsphere-investment-group-035603979.html

fa6a9097-801e-3b1f-8472-0898c2e06782

BSIG

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript August 6, 2023 Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the BrightSphere Investment Group Earnings Conference Call and Webcast for the Second Quarter 2023. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this call is being recorded today, Thursday, August 3, 2023, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Melody Huang, SVP Director of Finance, Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Melody Huang: Good morning, and welcome to BrightSphere's conference call to discuss our results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. Before we get started, please note that we may make forward-looking statements about our business and financial performance. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties appears in our SEC filings, including the Form 8-K filed today containing the earnings release, our 2022 Form 10-K and our Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2023. Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on assumptions as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them as a result of new information or future events.Oversold Value Stocks To BuyPhoto by Chris Liverani on Unsplash We may also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information about any non-GAAP measures referenced, including a reconciliation of those measures to GAAP measures, can be found on our website, along with the slides that we will use as part of today's discussion. Finally, nothing here shall be deemed to be an offer of solicitation to buy any investment products. Suren Rana, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will lead the call. And now I'm pleased to turn the call over to Suren. Suren Rana: Thanks, Melody. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. As usual, I'll start off with the main highlights on Slide five of the deck, and then we can jump into Q&A. So for Q2 '23, we reported ENI per share of $0.28 compared to $0.41 in the second quarter of 2022, when compared to $0.28 in the first quarter of '23, the drop in earnings compared to a year ago was primarily driven by higher OpEx due to the impact of foreign currency changes, inflation and our ongoing investment in growth initiatives and operational infrastructure. Acadian's investment performance continues to be strong as of June 30, '23, 81% -- 81% and 90% of strategies by revenue to beat their benchmarks over the prior three, five and 10 year periods, respectively. We reported modestly positive net flows with $0.1 billion of net inflows, and it was our fourth straight quarter of positive net flows. At the same time, our sales pipeline remains strong. We continue to be on track to execute on our growth initiatives. Acadian's equity alternatives platform is off to a promising start. The investment track record is building well after we seeded the platform a couple of quarters ago. On systematic credits, the team continues to build out the model and infrastructure. We expect to start investing in seed capital in the strategy in Q4 of this year. Turning to capital management, we had a cash balance of $141 million as of June 30, '23. Acadian has continued to pay down its revolving facility and ended the quarter with an outstanding balance of $38 million compared to $87 million at the end of the last quarter. Like in prior years, we expect the facility to be paid down fully by year-end. As our business continues to generate strong free cash flow, we expect to continue deploying capital to support our organic growth and to buy back stock, whenever opportunities come up. Our long-term strategy remains the same. We will continue to invest in our core capabilities and leverage our unique Quant platform to grow and expand into new areas. We will continue using our free cash flow to support organic growth and to buy back stock, and we remain focused on maximizing shareholder value. Now let me turn the call back to the operator. I'm happy to answer questions at this point. See also Top 20 Countries With the Most McDonald's Restaurants and 10 Best Canadian Penny Stocks to Buy Now.Q&A SessionOperator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Michael Cyprys from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Morgan Cyprys: Hey, sir, and good morning. Thanks for taking the question. Maybe just on -- kicking off on buybacks. I don't think I saw any in the quarter. So just hoping you could update us on just your latest thoughts there and how you're thinking about opportunities there to repurchase shares. Is there just any sort of limitations in place right now around available windows that may have prohibited you in the quarter? And when do you think you might have a window begin to open up again as you look out? Suren Rana: Hi, Mike, yes. I guess no buybacks in the last quarter either. We do have cash on our balance sheet as you've noticed. and the uses are still. So no change really in our approach but uses are to support our organic growth, which we've already laid out the near-term plans. And the rest of it is really toward buyback when we have windows available. We don't know yet when we might have that. We're probably looking out at least a couple of quarters before we can look at any buybacks. Morgan Cyprys: Great. And then just maybe a follow-up question on the institutional pipeline. Maybe you could just update us, elaborate a bit on how that looks today versus last quarter. And maybe you can give us a little bit of flavor for the types of strategies that you're seeing in the pipeline as we'll? Suren Rana: Yes. Thanks. Yes, the pipeline continues to be strong and healthy as we reported last quarter. There were some delays by a couple of weeks or three weeks as we approached summer. But generally, things are moving through the pipeline. July was good. I guess last quarter, as I said, it was just modestly positive, but we had a good July. So hopefully, that momentum continues. And there's a variety of strategies. As you know, the firm overall has a large number of strategies. So we're pretty diversified, and that reflects in the pipeline, too. So it's across a variety of strategies, including small cap international, there is interest in Long-Short as well, enhanced versions of various strategies. So it's pretty robust. We got sales from global equity from all country ex U.S. So hopefully, that gives you a flavor. Operator: Our next question comes from John Dunn from Evercore ISI. Please go ahead. Your line is open. John Dunn: Hi, good morning and thank you. I had a question about the fee rate maybe in the back half of the year. Just with kind of like emerging markets down so far in the quarter and U.S. up a little bit, what do you think like the trajectory of the fee rate might look like? Suren Rana: Yes. Our fee rate is affected a lot by the mix. So it's hard to tell. But my best guess would be we continue to be at around the 38 bps in the near term where we are. Emerging markets has a higher fee rate. And as you know, U.S. markets, at least in the last couple of quarters, beat the emerging market indices, but there are other factors still. We're getting some higher fee inflows and losing lower fee outflows. So the result, we have 38 bps now compared to 37 bps a year ago. So I would say we probably stay put here. Longer term, there are things, particularly our initiatives, for example, where we have higher fee strategies that would hopefully pull that fee rate higher. But at least in the near term, I would -- my best guess would be we stay around here. John Dunn: Got you. And then just on G&A in the second half. I think that generally, the expense ratios probably go down from here. But in terms of dollars, where do you see fixed comp and G&A going over the next two quarters? Suren Rana: Yes, staying more or less at this level. In the last few quarters, as I mentioned in my remarks, we have invested in our operational infrastructure. Over the last couple of quarters, we also have invested in the new initiatives. We've added to the headcount, we've added to the data, et cetera. So that -- we've done a fair bit and we probably have also built up some scale as we have done that. And we've -- some of the OpEx has increased because of inflation, as I said earlier, in terms of just the higher cost of data and comp increase for -- to help folks with inflation. And there has been some temporary things as well like the ForEx impact. Last year, we had a benefit of the ForEx impact. This year, it went the other way; so some of that should go away. But I would say, basically, we're probably -- in terms of dollars, we'll probably stay at this level more or less. Operator: Your next question comes from Kenneth Lee from RBC. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Kenneth Lee : Hi, good morning. Just at a high level, more broadly, I wonder if you could just talk about what you're seeing in terms of client sentiment or positioning? And then perhaps maybe some kind of indication of what that potential implications for organic growth over the near term? Suren Rana: Yes. Thanks, Ken. Yes, as you know, we're basically primarily institutional business. So our clients and the consultants tend to have longer-term views with the sales cycles often going in nine to 12 months. So it doesn't change that much quarter-to-quarter. As I said earlier, we've seen the pipeline is good. We were seeing interest across a number of strategies. So that's really good. They also don't see much of any kind of exodus from any particular strategies or any groups of strategies. So that's good as well. Maybe one exception I would say is that in terms of the outflows that we had a good part was still from the managed vol group of strategies, maybe that's probably one area where we saw some clients take a position that in the trending data rewarding market, maybe they were the cut down some exposure to the managed vol. Longer term, of course, our clients believe that manage vault strategies really for the risk adjusted return is better than many others. But that's where I would say maybe we had some directional decisions. But other than that, really clients want to invest, and they're taking the meetings, and the pipeline is good. So we're cautiously optimistic. Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference call back over to Suren Rana. Suren Rana: Thank you. I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time. Look forward to chatting next quarter.

Insider Monkey

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brightsphere-investment-group-inc-nyse-170806099.html

ad4ef57f-e6bf-39f0-96be-5c1cf092c7fc

BSX

Boston Scientific is a medical device company with a focus on noninvasive treatments. Its stock price has performed strongly the past 12 months and the question is whether that strength can continue. Let's monitor the health of the charts and indicators.Continue reading

TheStreet.com

Boston Scientific Is Looking for a Possible Breakout

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/17de46b8-92ff-30ba-ac1f-8f4269cbb09f/boston-scientific-is-looking.html

17de46b8-92ff-30ba-ac1f-8f4269cbb09f

BSX

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Boston Scientific:Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)0.077 = US$2.2b ÷ (US$34b - US$4.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).Thus, Boston Scientific has an ROCE of 7.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 9.7%. See our latest analysis for Boston Scientific roceIn the above chart we have measured Boston Scientific's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Boston Scientific.What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell UsWhen we looked at the ROCE trend at Boston Scientific, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 7.7% from 11% five years ago. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.Story continuesOn a side note, Boston Scientific has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 14% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.What We Can Learn From Boston Scientific's ROCETo conclude, we've found that Boston Scientific is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has gained an impressive 44% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.If you want to continue researching Boston Scientific, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.While Boston Scientific may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Returns On Capital Signal Tricky Times Ahead For Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/returns-capital-signal-tricky-times-110021438.html

27ff6b86-d95e-3a05-8e66-954f2fe562d8

BV

Asplund also Named to Board of DirectorsOne Rock Operating Partner Kurtis Barker and One Rock Partner Joshua Goldman Appointed to BoardInvestment Proceeds to Reduce Leverage and Accelerate GrowthBLUE BELL, Pa., August 28, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrightView Holdings, Inc. ("BrightView" or the "Company") (NYSE: BV), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dale A. Asplund, 55, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, 2023. In conjunction with his appointment as CEO, Asplund will also join the BrightView board as a director as of that date. In addition, BrightView today announced that an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC ("One Rock"), a value-oriented, operationally focused private equity firm, has made a $500 million strategic investment in the Company in the form of convertible preferred stock.This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230827430329/en/Dale A. Asplund (Photo: Business Wire)CEO AppointmentA respected and successful business executive, Asplund’s appointment follows a thorough search process, conducted by the Board over the last number of months in consultation with a leading search firm, with the mandate to appoint a next-generation leader who is capable of driving transformative growth at BrightView. Asplund succeeds Interim President and CEO Jim Abrahamson. Abrahamson, who has served as a BrightView independent director since 2015, will remain as a member of the Board.Asplund brings 25 years of extensive operational, service provider, and publicly traded company expertise to BrightView from United Rentals, Inc., the world’s largest equipment rental company. Most recently, as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, a position he was appointed to in 2019, Asplund served on the executive leadership team with company-wide responsibility for operations and employee safety. Asplund, who joined United Rentals in 1998, has held strategic leadership roles encompassing business services, shared services, supply chain, fleet management, and information technology. Earlier in his career, Asplund worked for United Waste Systems, Inc.Story continues"We are excited to welcome Dale to the BrightView team. Dale is an outstanding leader whose proven operational excellence and exceptional strategic capabilities make him an ideal choice for our next CEO," said Paul E. Raether, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "As BrightView continues its transformational journey, the Board looks forward to working with Dale to deliver long-term growth and value for shareholders and is grateful to Jim for leading the Company through this transition period and his continued involvement in BrightView.""I am excited to lead this great company and talented team into its next phase of growth and performance," said Asplund. "BrightView has firmly established itself as the industry leader in commercial landscaping. I look forward to collaborating with the Board, senior management, and dedicated team members to build upon their success. Underscoring my confidence in the Company’s future, in the coming weeks, I plan to make a personal investment of approximately $5 million in BrightView shares."Today’s announcement follows the Company’s recent fiscal third quarter earnings report, highlighted by solid revenue growth, continued margin progression, and significant cash flow improvement. Project Accelerate, the Company’s cost containment initiative, has been materially expanded and is transitioning into the implementation phase – now identified as Project Liberty, with the intent of driving continued growth in revenue, profitability, and margin expansion.One Rock InvestmentAs part of its strategic initiatives to accelerate operational excellence, grow the business, and strengthen its balance sheet, BrightView has received an investment from One Rock in the form of $500 million newly-issued shares of convertible preferred stock. BrightView will use 90% of the proceeds from the investment to pay down debt, helping to significantly de-lever the Company’s balance sheet to 3.1x net debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA and position it for transformative growth under Asplund’s new leadership. Remaining funds from the new investment, coupled with increased free cash flow due to lower interest expense, are expected to provide BrightView with the flexibility to pursue acquisitions of complementary landscape businesses and other accretive initiatives. BrightView’s existing shareholders are not selling any shares in connection with the transaction."We believe this investment from One Rock is a strong vote of confidence in BrightView’s strategy and continued efforts to increase growth and profitability," said Raether. "We look forward to partnering with One Rock and leveraging their operational expertise, including extensive experience in the landscaping industry, as we continue to drive BrightView’s future success.""One Rock’s investment approach is centered on our capacity to deliver a broad range of operational and strategic resources to portfolio companies that are anchored by the expertise of One Rock’s team of Operating Partners," said Joshua Goldman, Partner at One Rock. "We expect that our prior experience providing strategic and hands-on operational improvements to the businesses we’ve owned in the business and environmental services sectors will be additive to BrightView’s and Dale’s vision to generate returns for shareholders."Following receipt of HSR approval and certain other requirements, the preferred stock will be convertible into shares of BrightView common stock at a conversion price of $9.44 per share and will vote together with the Company’s common stock on all matters brought to shareholders on an as-converted basis. The preferred stock has a 7% annual dividend, compounded quarterly, which will be payable in cash or in kind at BrightView’s option.In connection with this transaction, One Rock Operating Partner, Kurtis Barker, and One Rock Partner, Joshua Goldman, have been appointed as new directors to BrightView’s board. Upon their appointment and that of Asplund, the Board will be comprised of 10 directors.KKR BrightView Aggregator L.P., the current majority stockholder of BrightView, has approved the One Rock investment transaction and, in connection with it, has agreed to waive certain of its contractual rights, including the right to appoint more than two members of the Board and to approve certain significant BrightView actions. BrightView will be filing with the SEC and mailing an information statement to its stockholders with further information regarding the transaction.Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. served as financial advisor to BrightView’s Board of Directors and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor. Mizuho Securities USA LLC served as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to One Rock on the transaction.About BrightViewBrightView (NYSE: BV), the nation’s largest commercial landscaper, proudly designs, creates, and maintains the best landscapes on Earth and provides the most efficient and comprehensive snow and ice removal services. With a dependable service commitment, BrightView brings brilliant landscapes to life at premier properties across the United States, including business parks and corporate offices, homeowners' associations, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, retail centers, resorts and theme parks, municipalities, golf courses, and sports venues. BrightView also serves as the Official Field Consultant to Major League Baseball. Through industry-leading best practices and sustainable solutions, BrightView is invested in taking care of our team members, engaging our clients, inspiring our communities, and preserving our planet. Visit www.BrightView.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.About One RockOne Rock makes investments in companies with potential for growth and operational improvement using a rigorous approach that utilizes highly experienced Operating Partners to identify, acquire, and enhance businesses in select industries. The involvement of these Operating Partners affords One Rock the ability to conduct due diligence and consummate acquisitions and investments in all types of situations, regardless of complexity. One Rock strives to work collaboratively with company management and its Operating Partners, including on a comprehensive business plan focused on growing the enterprise and its profitability to enhance long-term value. For more information, visit www.onerockcapital.com.Forward Looking StatementsThis press release includes certain disclosures which contain "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are based on BrightView’s current expectations and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements, which are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements can be found under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, as such risk factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website on www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statement in this release speaks only as of the date of this release. BrightView undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230827430329/en/ContactsBrightView: Investor Relations [email protected] Media David Freireich, Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs(484) [email protected] Rock: Julia [email protected]

Business Wire

BrightView Appoints Dale A. Asplund as Chief Executive Officer and Announces $500 Million Strategic Investment from One Rock Capital Partners

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brightview-appoints-dale-asplund-chief-101500095.html

78e2ee0e-968c-3acb-ac4d-aaa4ba510d27

BV

The $500 million investment from a New York private equity firm will help BrightView Holdings pay down $1.4 billion in debt.Continue reading

American City Business Journals

Blue Bell's BrightView Holdings lands $500M investment, names new CEO

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/9b50a6ed-077d-3993-998a-4563144e5213/blue-bell-s-brightview.html

9b50a6ed-077d-3993-998a-4563144e5213

BVH

BOCA RATON, Fla., August 02, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation (NYSE: BVH) (OTCQX: BVHBB) (the "Company" or "Bluegreen") reported today its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.Key Highlights as of and for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2023:Net income attributable to shareholders increased 23% to $21.9 million from $17.8 million in the prior year quarter.Diluted Earnings Per Share ("EPS") increased 54% to $1.34 from $0.87 in the prior year quarter.Total revenue increased 11% to $260.6 million from $235.6 million in the prior year quarter.System-wide sales of vacation ownership interests ("VOIs") increased 1% to $200.7 million from $198.5 million in the prior year quarter.(1)Number of guest tours increased 1% to 66,916 from 66,376 in the prior year quarter.Vacation packages sold increased 17% to 47,114 compared to 40,395 in the prior year quarter.Vacation packages outstanding of 166,686 as of June 30, 2023, compared to 165,240 as of December 31, 2022 and 184,782 outstanding as of June 30, 2022.Adjusted EBITDA attributable to shareholders increased 17% to $40.7 million from $34.7 million in the prior year quarter. (2)In April 2023, Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations LLC, a joint venture between the Company and Bass Pro Shops, acquired Branson Cedars Resort, an 80-acre property adjacent to the joint venture’s Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Resort.In May 2023, Bluegreen acquired an existing property in Nashville, Tennessee, to be converted into a 15-story timeshare resort.In June 2023, Bluegreen completed a private offering and sale of approximately $214.6 million of VOI receivable-backed notes.Key Highlights as of and for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2023:Net income attributable to shareholders decreased 1% to $33.4 million from $33.8 million in the prior year period.Diluted Earnings Per Share ("EPS") increased 26% to $2.05 from $1.63 in the prior year period.Total revenue increased 11% to $479.7 million from $430.6 million in the prior year period.System-wide sales of vacation ownership interests ("VOIs") increased 5% to $367.7 million from $350.1 million in the prior year period.(1)Number of guest tours increased 3% to 118,671 from 115,237 in the prior year period.Vacation packages sold increased 7% to 87,894 compared to 82,385 in the prior year period.Adjusted EBITDA attributable to shareholders increased 8% to $70.8 million from $65.7 million in the prior year period.(2)Free cash flow was an outflow of $58.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to an inflow of $61.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, primarily as a result of the acquisition and development of real estate, an increase in VOI notes receivable originations and timing of changes in working capital.(3)Story continues(1)See appendix for reconciliation of system-wides sales of VOIs to gross sales of VOIs for each respective period.(2)See appendix for reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA attributable to shareholders to net income attributable to shareholders for each respective period.(3)See appendix for reconciliation of free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities.Alan B. Levan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation, commented, "We continue to be excited by our overall performance, which drove a 17% increase in Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2023. We believe that the results in the second quarter reflect our dual focus on achieving growth while at the same time improving our profit margin. Not only did we achieve a second quarter record $200.7 million of system-wide sales, but we achieved this while also reducing our selling and marketing costs to 53% of system-wide sales in the second quarter of 2023 compared to 57% in the second quarter of 2022. Our focus on improving the efficiency of our vacation package marketing programs drove marketing costs down, while also producing a 17% increase in vacation package sales in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2022. In addition, we realized lower sales commission expense as a percentage of system-wide sales during the 2023 quarter compared to the 2022 quarter.""Our system-wide sales were 1% higher in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to the second quarter of 2022. This increase reflected the impact of a 1% increase in guest tours over the prior year quarter, at a consistent sales volume per guest of approximately $3,013. Had it not been for the out of service units in certain Florida properties because of hurricanes in 2022, we believe we would have achieved greater efficiencies and sales of VOIs and we expect to continue to increase efficiency as more of these units are returned to our system in the coming months. We continue to improve our average sales price per transaction, which increased 4% to $21,456 during the 2023 quarter compared to the 2022 quarter.""Our sales of VOIs are driven by the success of our marketing programs, and Bluegreen’s marketing to new customers generally begins with the sale of a vacation package to a prospect. During the second quarter of 2023, we sold 47,114 vacation packages, a 17% increase from the 40,395 we sold in the second quarter of 2022. This increase was despite closing or going ‘virtual’ at 52 marketing locations on January 1, 2023. During the second quarter, we reopened four of these locations and are pleased with the early results.""We continue to see high demand for leisure travel and specifically for the Bluegreen Vacation Club, and we are pursuing a strategy to expand the offerings of vacation experiences for our owners in some of the most desirable locations in the country. In April 2023, Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations LLC, our joint venture with Bass Pro Shops, acquired the Branson Cedars Resort in Branson, Missouri, an 80-acre property with existing "tiny home" cottages, cabins, treehouses, and resort amenities, and with future development planned. In May 2023, we acquired a 15-story hotel in the historic Printers Alley district of Nashville, Tennessee. These acquisitions are the latest new properties added by Bluegreen in the last year, in addition to adding Presidential Suites and other units at certain of our existing resorts. While we expect that these expansion initiatives will in the future produce higher revenues and earnings, in the short-term the increased inventory carrying costs and start-up costs put pressure on our operating margin, as well as involve increased or higher acquisition and development expenditures which adversely impacted our free cash flow during 2023 to date.""Our strategy of increasing our note receivable portfolio from financed sales of VOIs is also contributing to Adjusted EBITDA. Net interest spread, which is the excess of interest income from VOI notes receivable over the interest expense from pledging and selling those VOI notes receivable in the capital markets, increased 11% to $21.5 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $19.3 million in the second quarter of 2022.""We were also pleased that our Adjusted EBITDA at Resort Management and Club Operations increased by 11% in the second quarter of 2023, to a record $23.1 million from $20.9 million in the second quarter of 2022. We believe that the results of this segment are important to our continued goal of generating recurring free cash flow and earnings.""We believe that, from a balance sheet perspective, we are well positioned to navigate uncertain economic conditions by virtue of our approximately $178.7 million of unrestricted cash on hand and $500.4 million of conditional availability under our lines of credit and receivable purchase facilities as of June 30, 2023. We also believe we have a level of protection from rising interest rates as 54% of our outstanding debt at June 30, 2023 bear interest rates that are currently fixed. We were pleased to complete a private offering and sale of $214.6 million of VOI receivable-backed notes in June 2023, which we believe evidences our continued ability to raise capital in the securitization markets. Our plan is to maintain what we believe to be a healthy balance sheet, while continuing our focus on growth and profitability over the long term." Mr. Levan concluded.Financial Results(dollars in millions, except per guest and per transaction amounts)Three Months EndedJune 30,Six MonthsEnded June 30,20232022Q2 2023 vsQ2 2022% Change20232022YTD 2023 vsYTD 2022% ChangeTotal revenue$260.6$235.611%$479.7$430.611%Income before non-controlling interest and provision for income taxes$34.5$28.023%$54.4$53.42%Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to shareholders (1)$40.7$34.717%$70.8$65.78%(1)See Appendix for reconciliation of Bluegreen’s Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to shareholders to Net Income Attributable to shareholders.Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders was $40.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, including $41.4 million generated by the Sales of VOIs and Financing Segment and $23.1 million produced by the Resort Operations and Club Management segment, partially offset by $19.2 million of corporate overhead and other expenses and $4.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA attributable to a third-party non-controlling interest in Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations LLC. Please see the discussion of Segment Results below for further information.Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders was $70.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, including $76.1 million generated by the Sales of VOIs and Financing Segment and $45.7 million produced by the Resort Operations and Club Management segment, partially offset by $42.4 million of corporate overhead and other expenses and $8.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA attributable to a third-party non-controlling interest in Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations LLC. Please see the discussion of Segment Results below for further information.Sales of VOIs and Financing Segment(dollars in millions, except per guest and per transaction amounts)Three Months EndedJune 30,Six Months EndedJune 30,20232022Q2 2023 vsQ2 2022% Change20232022YTD 2023 vsYTD 2022% ChangeSystem-wide sales of VOIs$200.7$198.51%$367.7$350.15%Segment adjusted EBITDA$41.4$37.411%$76.1$73.14%Provision for loan losses16.3%15.5%80bp16.6%15.1%150bpCost of VOIs sold11.6%12.6%(100)bp11.9%12.4%(50)bpFinancing revenue, net of financing expense$21.5$19.311%$42.6$38.012%Key Data Regarding Bluegreen’s System-wide sales of VOIsThree Months EndedJune 30,Six Months EndedJune 30,20232022Q2 2023 vsQ2 2022% Change20232022YTD 2023 vsYTD 2022% ChangeSystem-wide sales of VOIs$200.7$198.51%$367.7$350.15%Number of total guest tours66,91666,3761%118,671115,2373%Average sales price per transaction$21,456$20,5524%$21,661$20,4106%Sales to tour conversion ratio14.0%14.7%(70)bp14.3%15.0%(70)bpSales volume per guest ("VPG")$3,013$3,016—%$3,105$3,0562%Selling and marketing expenses, as a % of system-wide sales of VOIs53.1%56.7%(360)bp54.2%56.1%(190)bpProvision for loan losses16.3%15.5%80bp16.6%15.1%150bpCost of VOIs sold11.6%12.6%(100)bp11.9%12.4%(50)bpSystem-wide sales of VOIs increased 1% to $200.7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2023 from $198.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The number of guest tours was 1% higher in the 2023 second quarter compared to the 2022 second quarter, while sales volume per guest, or VPG, was relatively consistent between the quarters. The VPG performance in the second quarter of 2023 was driven by a 4% increase in average sales price per transaction, partially offset by a 70 basis-point decrease in the sale-to-tour conversion rate as we continued to focus on larger transaction sizes.System-wide sales of VOIs increased 5% to $367.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $350.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The number of guest tours was 3% higher, while VPG was relatively flat in the six months ended June 30, 2023, as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2022. The VPG performance in the six months ended June 30, 2023 was driven by a 6% increase in average sales price per transaction, partially offset by a 70 basis-point decrease in the sale-to-tour conversion rate.Fee-based Sales Commission RevenueVOI sales of third-party inventory, for which we earn a commission, represented 10% and 11% of System-wide Sales of VOIs during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively. Fee-based sales commission revenue on such sales was $13.9 million and $25.6 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, which represented a commission rate of approximately 66% and 65% during those respective periods.VOI sales of third-party inventory, for which we earn a commission, are expected to be between 9% and 12% of system-wide sales of VOIs for the remainder of 2023.Provision for Loan LossesThe provision for loan losses as a percentage of gross sales of VOIs was approximately 16% during both the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2022. The provision for loan losses as a percentage of gross sales of VOIs was approximately 17% during the six months ended June 30, 2023, and 15% during the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in the provision for loan losses as a percentage of gross sales of VOIs during the first half of 2023 as compared to the comparable prior year period is primarily a result of a higher proportion of VOI sales that were financed by us, as we actively seek to grow our VOI notes receivable portfolio to generate additional interest income.The provision for loan losses is expected to be between 16% and 18% of gross sales of VOIs during the remainder of 2023.Cost of VOIs SoldCost of VOIs sold represented 12% and 13% of sales of VOIs in the second quarters of 2023 and 2022 and 12% of sales of VOIs during both six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.Cost of VOIs sold is expected to be between 11% and 13% of sales of VOIs for the remainder of 2023.Net Carrying Cost of InventoryThe net carrying cost of inventory increased 18% to $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2023 from $4.0 million in the second quarter of 2022. The net carrying cost of inventory increased 20% to $9.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, from $8.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in net carrying cost of inventory reflects lower rental and sampler revenue, partially offset by lower maintenance fees and developer subsidies based on the timing of acquisitions of VOI inventory. Recent and planned acquisitions of VOI inventory are expected to increase developer subsidies in the near future.Selling and Marketing ExpensesThree Months EndedJune 30,Six Months EndedJune 30,20232022Q2 2023 vsQ2 2022% Change20232022YTD 2023 vsYTD 2022% ChangeSelling and marketing expenses, as a % of system-wide sales of VOIs53.1%56.7%(360)bp54.2%56.1%(190)bpPercentage of sales of VOIs to new customers44.8%46.4%(160)bp42.1%44.9%(280)bpNumber of Bass Pro and Cabela's marketing locations (1)1301282%1301282%Number of total guest tours66,91666,3761%118,671115,2373%Number of vacation packages sold47,11440,39517%87,89482,3857%Number of vacation packages outstanding, end of the period (2)166,686184,782(10)%166,686184,782(10)%(1)As of January 1, 2023, 23 of our Cabela’s marketing locations were converted to unmanned, virtual kiosks, 4 of which were reopened during June 2023.(2)Excludes vacation packages sold to customers more than one year prior to the period presented and vacation packages sold to customers who had already toured and purchased VOIs.Selling and marketing expenses decreased 5% to $106.6 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $112.6 million in the second quarter of 2022, despite the 1% increase in system-wide sales during the 2023 quarter compared to the 2022 quarter. As a percentage of system-wide sales, selling and marketing expenses decreased to 53% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to 57% in the second quarter of 2022. The decrease in selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of system-wide sales was driven by decreases in our marketing costs and sales commissions expense and a higher proportion of sales to existing owners, which are generally more profitable than sales to new customers. Sales to new owners increased to 55% of system-wide sales in the second quarter of 2023 from 54% in the second quarter of 2022.Selling and marketing expenses increased 1% to $199.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $196.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, primarily driven by the 5% increase in system-wide sales during the 2023 period compared to the 2022 period. As a percentage of system-wide sales, selling and marketing expenses decreased to 54% for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 56% for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The decrease in selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of system-wide sales was driven by decreases in our marketing cost and sales commissions expense, both as a percentage of system-wide sales. Sales to existing owners, which are generally more profitable than sales to new customers, increased to 58% of system-wide sales for the six months ended June 30, 2023, from 55% for the six months ended June 30, 2022.Marketing expense decreased during the 2023 periods as a result of the previously disclosed transition of kiosks at certain Cabela’s stores to an unmanned, virtual format and exited certain kiosks at malls as of January 1, 2023. The operation of fewer locations lowered overall costs and allowed us to focus on higher producing locations. As a result, even with fewer locations, we increased the number of vacation packages sold in the second quarter and the first half of 2023 by 17% and 7%, respectively, over the prior periods. The active pipeline of vacation packages decreased to 166,686 at June 30, 2023 from 184,782 at June 30, 2022 based on vacation packages used or expired, net of new vacation package sales. During the second, third and fourth quarters of 2022, we reorganized our retail marketing operations temporarily reducing our package sales and pipeline of vacation packages. While there is no assurance that this will continue to be the case, historically, approximately 40%-42% of vacation packages resulted in guest tours at one of Bluegreen’s resorts with a sales center within twelve months of purchase. In addition to this active pipeline, Bluegreen also has a pipeline of approximately 16,400 vacation packages held by customers who already toured and purchased a VOI who have indicated they would tour again.Selling and marketing expenses are expected to be between 53% and 55% as a percentage of system-wide sales during the remainder of 2023.General & Administrative Expenses from Sales & Marketing OperationsGeneral and administrative expenses representing expenses directly attributable to sales and marketing operations increased 7% to $15.0 million during the second quarter of 2023 from $14.0 million during the second quarter of 2022 and increased 11% to $26.5 million during the six months ended June 30, 2023 from $23.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2022. As a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs, general and administrative expenses attributable to sales and marketing operations were 7% during each such periods.General and administrative expenses representing expenses directly attributable to sales and marketing operations as a percentage of sales are expected to be between 6% and 8% as a percentage of system-wide sales for the remainder of 2023.Financing Revenue and Financing ExpenseInterest income on VOI notes receivable increased 25% to $29.3 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $23.4 million in the second quarter of 2022. Interest income on VOI notes receivable increased 26% to $57.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $45.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in interest income on VOI notes receivable reflects a higher balance of VOI notes receivable due to continued VOI sales growth and our efforts to increase the amount of VOI sales that we finance.Interest expense on receivable-backed notes payable increased 90% to $7.8 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $4.1 million in the second quarter of 2022. Interest expense on receivable-backed notes payable increased 95% to $14.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $7.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in interest expense on receivable-backed notes payable reflect higher outstanding receivable-backed notes payable and an increased weighted-average cost of borrowing, associated with increases in interest rates.Resort Operations and Club Management Segment(dollars in millions)Three Months EndedJune 30,Six Months EndedJune 30,20232022Q2 2023 vsQ2 2022% Change20232022YTD 2023vs YTD2022% ChangeResort operations and club management revenue$59.1$45.530%$110.7$91.721%Segment Adjusted EBITDA$23.1$20.911%$45.7$41.510%Resorts managed52496%52496%The increases in Resort operations and club management revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter 2023 and the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to the comparable prior year periods, primarily reflect an increase in management fees, higher reimbursed HOA resort operating costs and three additional resort management contracts, partially offset by higher labor costs of providing such services.Corporate Overhead, Administrative Expenses, Interest Expense and OtherCorporate General and Administrative ExpensesCorporate general and administrative expenses increased 15% to $25.7 million during the second quarter of 2023 from $22.3 million during the second quarter of 2022. Corporate general and administrative expenses increased 10% to $52.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2023, from $47.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increases in expenses during the 2023 periods as compared to the 2022 periods were primarily associated with higher legal fees, insurance costs and information technology costs.Interest ExpenseInterest expense not related to receivable-backed debt was $10.0 million and $6.2 million during the second quarters of 2023 and 2022, respectively, and $19.6 million and $10.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. These increases were primarily due to an increase in outstanding debt and a higher weighted-average cost of borrowing due to increased interest rates in the 2023 periods.Securitization of Vacation Ownership ReceivablesIn June 2023, Bluegreen completed a private offering and sale of approximately $214.6 million of VOI receivable-backed notes. The transaction consisted of the issuance of three tranches of notes (collectively, the "Notes") with a weighted average coupon rate of approximately 6.32% and a maturity date in November 2038. The gross advance rate for the transaction was 85.5%. A portion of the proceeds from the Notes sale was used to pay down one of the Company’s receivable-backed debt facilities with the remainder of the proceeds expected to be used primarily for general corporate purposes.Additional InformationFor more complete and detailed information regarding the Company and its financial results, please see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on March 13, 2023, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10- Q for the three months ended June 30, 2023, which is expected to be filed with the SEC on or about August 2, 2023, and will be available on the SEC's website, https://www.sec.gov, and on the Company’s website, www.BVHCorp.com.Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresThe Company refers to certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, including EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, System-wide Sales of VOIs, and Free Cash Flow. Please see the supplemental tables herein for how these terms are defined and for reconciliations of such measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures.About Bluegreen Vacations:Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation (NYSE: BVH; OTCQX: BVHBB) is a leading vacation ownership company that markets and sells vacation ownership interests and manages resorts in popular leisure and urban destinations. The Bluegreen Vacation Club is a flexible, points-based, deeded vacation ownership plan with 71 Club and Club Associate Resorts and access to nearly 11,400 other hotels and resorts through partnerships and exchange networks.For further information, please visit us at:Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation: www.BVHCorp.comForward Looking StatementsCertain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of management and can be identified by the use of words such as "believe", "may", "could", "should", "plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "expects", and other words and phrases of similar import. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, that may cause actual results or performance to differ from those set forth or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risk that the Company is a holding company and, accordingly, will be largely dependent on dividends from Bluegreen to fund its expenses and obligations in future periods, and Bluegreen’s ability to pay dividends will depend on its results and may be limited by the terms of Bluegreen’s indebtedness; risks relating to Bluegreen’s business, operations, financial results, business strategy and prospects; risks related to general economic conditions, including increasing interest rates, inflationary trends, a potential recession and supply chain issues, and our ability to successfully navigate any adverse condition; competitive conditions; labor market conditions, including costs and shortages of labor, and its impact on Bluegreen’s operations and sales; risks related to changes made to our vacation package programs and their impact on sales, including that the goal of improving the efficiency of Bluegreen’s marketing expenditures may not result in the benefits anticipated; risks related to our investments in sales and marketing efforts and infrastructure, including their impact on our cash flow and the risk that they may not result in the benefits anticipated; risks related to resort acquisitions and our pursuit of acquisition and development opportunities, including that acquired resorts may not open when planned, the costs and risks of development and renovation activities, including potential construction delays and environmental issues may be greater than anticipated, that we may not be successful in identifying or consummating acquisition or development opportunities in the future, and that acquired or developed resorts may not be successfully operated or result in the benefits anticipated; risks relating to our liquidity and the availability of capital;, that the Company may not realize the benefits of its securitizations to the extent anticipated or at all, and that the Company’s receivable loan portfolio won’t perform as anticipated; the risk that our allowance for loan losses may not be adequate and, accordingly, may need to be increased in the future, the risk that Bluegreen’s default rates will increase and exceed expectations; risks related to Bluegreen’s efforts to address the actions of timeshare exit firms and the increase in default rates associated therewith are not successful, or otherwise; risks related to our indebtedness, including the potential for accelerated maturities and debt covenant violations; the impact of public health and general economic conditions, including inflation, on Bluegreen’s consumers, including their income and level of discretionary spending, and on consumer traffic at retail locations; the risk that our core strategy of primarily offering a ‘drive-to’ network of resorts will not continue to serve as a growth driver; the risk that resort operations and club management segment may not continue to produce recurring EBITDA and free cash flow; risks that Bluegreen’s current or future marketing alliances and arrangements, including its marketing arrangements with Bass Pro, NASCAR and the Choice Hotels program, may not be renewed and will expire pursuant to their terms and may not be profitable; the risk that vacation package sales, including those in the pipeline, may not convert to tours and/or VOI sales at anticipated or historical rates; the risk that efforts to reactivate older vacation packages which have not been used may not be successful; the risk that resort occupancies may not continue at current or historical levels or meet expectations; our ability to successfully implement strategic plans and initiatives, generate earnings and long-term growth may not result in increased sales, revenues or efficiencies, or otherwise be successful; risks that construction defects, structural failures or natural disasters at or in proximity to Bluegreen’s resort; risks related to expansion of the resort network in existing and to new locations, including that such expansion may not be successful and may increase the Company’s debt and decrease the Company’s free cash flow; risks related to the mix of sales to new customers and existing owners, including that the level of sales to new customers may not be maintained, or support net owner growth in the future; risks regarding the amount of shares, if any, which may be repurchased by the Company in the future, the benefits to the Company, if any, of repurchasing shares, the timing of any share repurchases, and the availability of funds for the repurchase of shares; the risk that quarterly dividend payments may not be declared at the current level in the future, on a regular basis as anticipated, or at all; and the additional risks and uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (including the "Risk Factors" section thereof), which was filed on March 13, 2023, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2023, which is expected to be filed on August 2, 2023. The Company cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, which speaks only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update or supplement any forward-looking statements. In addition, past performance may not be indicative of future results.BLUEGREEN VACATIONS HOLDING CORPORATIONCONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS(In thousands, except share data)June 30,December 31,20232022ASSETSCash and cash equivalents$178,740$175,683Restricted cash ($27,027 and $19,461 in VIEs at June 30, 2023and December 31, 2022, respectively)52,21350,845Notes receivable842,481763,801Less: Allowance for loan losses(223,894)(211,311)Notes receivable, net ($392,612 and $354,403 in VIEsat June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively)618,587552,490Vacation ownership interest ("VOI") inventory447,963389,864Property and equipment, net87,33185,915Intangible assets, net61,29361,293Operating lease assets20,91122,963Prepaid expenses25,56623,833Other assets32,97935,499Total assets$1,525,583$1,398,385LIABILITIES AND EQUITYLiabilitiesAccounts payable$25,843$21,389Deferred income16,82815,675Accrued liabilities and other118,232110,048Receivable-backed notes payable - recourse19,45720,841Receivable-backed notes payable - non-recourse (in VIEs)505,468440,781Note payable to BBX Capital, Inc.35,00050,000Note payable and other borrowings240,355218,738Junior subordinated debentures136,591136,011Operating lease liabilities25,47227,716Deferred income taxes120,275113,193Total liabilities1,243,5211,154,392Commitments and Contingencies - See Note 9EquityPreferred stock of $0.01 par value; authorized 10,000,000 shares——Class A Common Stock of $0.01 par value; authorized 30,000,000 shares;issued and outstanding 12,204,198 in 2023 and 12,165,825 in 2022122122Class B Common Stock of $0.01 par value; authorized 4,000,000 shares;issued and outstanding 3,664,117 in 2023 and 20223737Additional paid-in capital49,84946,821Accumulated earnings151,277124,680Total Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation equity201,285171,660Non-controlling interest80,77772,333Total equity282,062243,993Total liabilities and equity$1,525,583$1,398,385BLUEGREEN VACATIONS HOLDING CORPORATIONCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME(In thousands, except share data)Three Months EndedSix Months EndedJune 30,June 30,2023202220232022Revenue:Gross sales of VOIs$179,685$170,787$328,544$286,395Provision for loan losses(29,324)(26,526)(54,570)(43,105)Sales of VOIs150,361144,261273,974243,290Fee-based sales commission revenue13,88118,85025,57242,934Other fee-based services revenue36,04532,78569,34563,991Cost reimbursements...26,30016,16847,66934,232Interest income30,95323,50659,78845,704Other income, net3,078—3,342473Total revenues260,618235,570479,690430,624Costs and Expenses:Cost of VOIs sold17,38718,22132,71730,063Cost of other fee-based services16,66713,59231,24826,354Cost reimbursements26,30016,16847,66934,232Interest expense17,74110,35634,21018,114Selling, general and administrative expenses148,053149,158279,492268,457Other expense, net—68——Total costs and expenses226,148207,563425,336377,220Income before income taxes34,47028,00754,35453,404Provision for income taxes(8,019)(6,171)(12,498)(12,361)Net income26,45121,83641,85641,043Less: Income attributable to noncontrolling interests4,5384,0528,4447,272Net income attributable to shareholders$21,913$17,784$33,412$33,771Comprehensive income attributable to shareholders$21,913$17,784$33,412$33,771Basic earnings per share (1)$1.38$0.88$2.11$1.65Diluted earnings per share (1)$1.34$0.87$2.05$1.63Basic weighted average number of common shares outstanding15,86820,22615,86420,500Diluted weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares outstanding16,31020,38916,27820,678Cash dividend declared per Class A and B common shares$0.20$0.15$0.40$0.15(1)Basic and Diluted EPS are calculated the same for both Class A and B common shares.BLUEGREEN VACATIONS HOLDING CORPORATIONADJUSTED EBITDA ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREHOLDERS RECONCILIATIONFor the Three MonthsEnded June 30,For the Six MonthsEnded June 30,2023202220232022(in thousands)Net income attributable to shareholders$21,91317,784$33,41233,771Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest in Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations4,5384,0528,4447,272Net Income26,45121,83641,85641,043Add: Depreciation and amortization3,8673,8527,8397,773Less: Interest income (other than interest earned onVOI notes receivable)(1,677)(132)(2,550)(195)Add: Interest expense - corporate and other9,9806,24119,60510,603Add: Provision for income taxes8,0196,17112,49812,361EBITDA46,64037,96879,24871,585Add: Share-based compensation expense1,5788173,0371,562Sale of vacant land and other assets(2,909)6(2,927)(38)Adjusted EBITDA45,30938,79179,35873,109Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the non-controlling interest(4,597)(4,115)(8,560)(7,385)Adjusted EBITDA attributable to shareholders$40,71234,676$70,79865,724The Company defines EBITDA as earnings, or net income, before taking into account income tax, interest income (excluding interest earned on VOI notes receivable), interest expense (excluding interest expense incurred on debt secured by VOI notes receivable), and depreciation and amortization. The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA, adjusted to exclude amounts of loss (gain) on assets held for sale, share-based compensation expense, and items that the Company believes are not representative of ongoing operating results. Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders is Adjusted EBITDA excluding amounts attributable to the non-controlling interest in Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations (in which Bluegreen owns a 51% interest). For purposes of the calculation of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders, no adjustments were made for interest income earned on VOI notes receivable or the interest expense incurred on debt that is secured by such notes receivable because they are both considered to be part of the ordinary operations of the Company’s business.The Company considers EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders to be indicators of operating performance, and they are used by the Company to measure its ability to service debt, fund capital expenditures and expand its business. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are also used by companies, lenders, investors and others because they exclude certain items that can vary widely across different industries or among companies within the same industry. For example, interest expense can be dependent on a company’s capital structure, debt levels and credit ratings. Accordingly, the impact of interest expense on earnings can vary significantly among companies. The tax positions of companies can also vary because of their differing abilities to take advantage of tax benefits and because of the tax policies of the jurisdictions in which they operate. As a result, effective tax rates and provision for income taxes can vary considerably among companies. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders also exclude depreciation and amortization because companies utilize productive assets of different ages and use different methods of both acquiring and depreciating productive assets. These differences can result in considerable variability in the relative costs of productive assets and the depreciation and amortization expense among companies.EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders are not recognized terms under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity, including cash flow, derived in accordance with GAAP, or to any other method or analyzing results as reported under GAAP. The limitations of using EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders as an analytical tool include, without limitation, that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders do not reflect (i) changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs; (ii) interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on indebtedness (other than as noted above); (iii) tax expense or the cash requirements to pay taxes; (iv) historical cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments; or (v) the effect on earnings or changes resulting from matters that the Company does not believe to be indicative of future operations or performance. Further, although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders do not reflect any cash that may be required for such replacements. In addition, the Company’s definition of Adjusted EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders may not be comparable to definitions of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to Shareholders or other similarly titled measures used by other companies.BLUEGREEN VACATIONS HOLDING CORPORATIONSYSTEM-WIDE SALES OF VOIs RECONCILIATION (1)For the Three Months Ended June 30,For the Six Months Ended June 30,(in thousands)2023202220232022Gross sales of VOIs$179,685$170,787$328,544$286,395Add: Fee-Based sales21,02227,76039,10963,697System-wide sales of VOIs$200,707$198,547$367,653$350,092(1)System-wide Sales of VOIs is a non-GAAP measure and represents all sales of VOIs, whether owned by Bluegreen or a third party immediately prior to the sale. Sales of VOIs owned by third parties are transacted as sales of VOIs in the Bluegreen Vacation Club through the same selling and marketing process Bluegreen uses to sell its VOI inventory. The Company considers system-wide sales of VOIs to be an important operating measure because it reflects all sales of VOIs by its sales and marketing operations without regard to whether Bluegreen or a third party owned such VOI inventory at the time of sale. System-wide sales of VOIs should not be considered as an alternative to sales of VOIs or any other measure of financial performance derived in accordance with GAAP or to any other method of analyzing results as reported under GAAP.BLUEGREEN VACATIONS HOLDING CORPORATIONFREE CASH FLOW RECONCILIATION (1)For the Three Months Ended June 30,(in thousands)20232022Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities$(49,868)$68,924Purchases of property and equipment(8,666)(7,867)Free Cash Flow$(58,534)$61,057(1)Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure defined as cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures for property and equipment. The Company focuses on the generation of free cash flow and considers free cash flow to be a useful supplemental measure of its ability to generate cash flow from operations and is a supplemental measure of liquidity. Free cash flow should not be considered as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. The Company’s computation of free cash flow may differ from the methodology used by other companies. Investors are cautioned that items excluded from free cash flow are a significant component in understanding and assessing the Company’s financial performance.BLUEGREEN VACATIONS HOLDING CORPORATIONSALES OF VOIs AND FINANCING SEGMENT- ADJUSTED EBITDAFor the Three Months Ended June 30,For the Six Months Ended June 30,2023202220232022Amount% ofSystem-wide salesof VOIs (5)Amount% ofSystem-wide salesof VOIs (5)Amount% ofSystem-wide salesof VOIs (5)Amount% ofSystem-wide salesof VOIs (5)(in thousands)Bluegreen owned VOI sales (1)$179,68590$170,78786$328,54489$286,39582Fee-Based VOI sales21,0221027,7601439,1091163,69718System-wide sales of VOIs200,707100198,547100367,653100350,092100Less: Fee-Based sales(21,022)(10)(27,760)(14)(39,109)(11)(63,697)(18)Gross sales of VOIs179,68590170,78786328,54489286,39582Provision for loan losses (2)(29,324)(16)(26,526)(16)(54,570)(17)(43,105)(15)Sales of VOIs150,36175144,26173273,97475243,29069Cost of VOIs sold (3)(17,387)(12)(18,221)(13)(32,717)(12)(30,063)(12)Gross profit (3)132,97488126,04087241,25788213,22788Fee-Based sales commission revenue (4)13,8816618,8506825,5726542,93467Financing revenue, net of financing expense21,5151119,2591042,6331237,99811Other expense(845)0(358)0(1,545)0(510)0Other fee-based services, title operations and other, net1,12012,46712,40714,5981Net carrying cost of VOI inventory(4,719)(2)(4,013)(2)(9,699)(3)(8,067)(2)Selling and marketing expenses(106,598)(53)(112,571)(57)(199,125)(54)(196,457)(56)General and administrative expenses - sales and marketing(14,957)(7)(13,971)(7)(26,455)(7)(23,932)(7)Operating profit - sales of VOIs and financing42,37121%35,70318%75,04520%69,79120%Add: Depreciation and amortization1,8971,6653,9313,314Sale of vacant land and other assets(2,912)—(2,893)—Adjusted EBITDA - sales of VOIs and financing$41,356$37,368$76,083$73,105(1)Bluegreen owned sales represent sales of VOIs acquired or developed by Bluegreen.(2)Percentages for provision for loan losses are calculated as a percentage of gross sales of VOIs, which excludes Fee-Based sales (and not as a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs).(3)Percentages for costs of VOIs sold and gross profit are calculated as a percentage of sales of VOIs (and not as a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs).(4)Percentages for Fee-Based sales commission revenue are calculated as a percentage of Fee-Based sales (and not as a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs).(5)Represents the applicable line item, calculated as a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs unless otherwise indicated in the above footnotes.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230802902123/en/ContactsBluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation Contact Info Investor Relations: Leo Hinkley, Managing Director, Investor Relations OfficerTelephone: 954-399-7193Email: [email protected]

Business Wire

Bluegreen Vacations Reports Financial Results for Second Quarter 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bluegreen-vacations-reports-financial-results-103000869.html

be5853ab-0898-3e65-b40c-27ffda180095

BVH

BOCA RATON, Fla., August 21, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation (NYSE: BVH) (OTCQX: BVHBB) (the "Company" or "Bluegreen Vacations") announced today that the Company’s Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its Class A and Class B Common Stock of $0.20 per share. The cash dividend is payable on September 18, 2023 to all shareholders of record at the close of trading on September 5, 2023.About Bluegreen Vacations: Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation (NYSE: BVH; OTCQX: BVHBB) is a leading vacation ownership company that markets and sells vacation ownership interests and manages resorts in popular leisure and urban destinations. The Bluegreen Vacation Club is a flexible, points-based, deeded vacation ownership plan with 71 Club and Club Associate Resorts and access to nearly 11,400 other hotels and resorts through partnerships and exchange networks.For further information, please visit us at:Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation: www.BVHCorp.comCertain matters within this press release include "forward–looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the risk that quarterly dividend payments may not be declared at the current level in the future, on a regular basis as anticipated, or at all, and the risks associated with the Company’s future progress and performance. For a description of risks relating to the payment of dividends as well as other risks and uncertainties, please review the Company's filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (including the "Risk Factors" section thereof), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the SEC's website, https://www.sec.gov, and on Bluegreen Vacations’ website, www.BVHCorp.com. The Company cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive.Story continuesView source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230821227583/en/ContactsBluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation Contact Info: Investor Relations: Leo Hinkley, Managing Director, Investor Relations OfficerTelephone: 954-399-7193Email: [email protected]

Business Wire

Bluegreen Vacations’ Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bluegreen-vacations-board-directors-declares-103000519.html

eee508b1-74da-3d15-9312-f3dd71722abd

BWA

BorgWarner (BWA) closed the most recent trading day at $39.75, moving -1.85% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.32%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.17%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.89%.Coming into today, shares of the auto parts supplier had lost 4.32% in the past month. In that same time, the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector lost 2.08%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.12%.Investors will be hoping for strength from BorgWarner as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.89, down 28.23% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $3.73 billion, down 8.11% from the year-ago period.Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.76 per share and revenue of $15.22 billion. These totals would mark changes of -18.26% and -3.65%, respectively, from last year.Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for BorgWarner. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.41% lower within the past month. BorgWarner is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that BorgWarner has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.78 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.36, so we one might conclude that BorgWarner is trading at a discount comparatively.Story continuesWe can also see that BWA currently has a PEG ratio of 0.9. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. BWA's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.74 as of yesterday's close.The Automotive - Original Equipment industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, putting it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBorgWarner Inc. (BWA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

BorgWarner (BWA) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/borgwarner-bwa-dips-more-broader-221518355.html

9e34257f-59c8-32f1-ba38-6a705de9905a

BWA

BorgWarner (BWA) closed the most recent trading day at $40.03, moving +0.7% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.14%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.22%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.09%.Heading into today, shares of the auto parts supplier had lost 4.15% over the past month, lagging the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's loss of 2.7% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.27% in that time.BorgWarner will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.89, down 28.23% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $3.73 billion, down 8.11% from the year-ago period.For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.76 per share and revenue of $15.22 billion, which would represent changes of -18.26% and -3.65%, respectively, from the prior year.Any recent changes to analyst estimates for BorgWarner should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.67% lower. BorgWarner is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that BorgWarner has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.58 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.05.Story continuesMeanwhile, BWA's PEG ratio is currently 0.89. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Automotive - Original Equipment industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.74 as of yesterday's close.The Automotive - Original Equipment industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 96, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBorgWarner Inc. (BWA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

BorgWarner (BWA) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/borgwarner-bwa-outpaces-stock-market-220020586.html

cc4ee3f4-c0d2-349e-ae7c-d635bc15e4af

BWEN

“Penny stock territory” may be chock full of “fallen angels,” former high-fliers, along with shares in companies with minimal growth prospects, but among the thousands of publicly-traded stocks, there are quite a few up-and-coming penny stocks as well.Although investors in recent years have been burned by low-priced ($5 per share or less) speculative growth plays that failed to live up to expectations, there are names in this category that have reported both revenue and earnings growth in recent years.That’s not all. Analyst forecasts call for these companies to remain in growth mode.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsTo top things off, while some of these stocks sport rich valuations, plenty of up-and-comers trade at reasonable valuations relative to their current and future growth prospects.So, what are some of the best up-and-coming penny stocks to buy right now? Take a look at these seven. Very attractive in terms of valuation and growth potential, each one is a strong opportunity at today’s prices.Broadwind (BWEN)A shot of wind energy mills with green hills and the skyline in the background.Source: ShutterstockBased in Cicero, Illinois, Broadwind (NASDAQ:BWEN) is a manufacturer of heavy industrial equipment, including equipment for the clean energy space.Rising demand for renewable energy infrastructure like wind turbines have resulted in vigorous growth for the company.This has resulted in strong returns for investors holding BWEN stock. Shares are up by around 156% year-to-date.However, even if you’re only becoming aware of Broadwind now, it’s not as if you’ve missed the boat here. This under-the-radar “green wave” play continues to be one of the top penny stocks to buy.Why? According to sell-side forecasts, BWEN’s earnings could nearly triple next year. Expected to report earnings of 25 cents per share this year, 2024 estimates call for earnings of 73 cents per share, or perhaps even higher.Such further earnings growth could propel Broadwind shares to levels far above “penny stock territory.”Story continuesElite Pharmaceuticals (ELTP)Light blue pills on white background. Pharmaceutical industry, medical treatment, presciption drugs concept. Digital 3D render., biotech stocks, big pharma. EVAX stockSource: Hernan E. Schmidt / Shutterstock.comElite Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:ELTP) is a penny stock I’ve talked about previously, for its boatloads of potential.Back in June, I argued that shares in the over-the-counter listed generic pharma firm appeared to be on the verge of turning a corner.Those already owning ELTP stock can say that it has truly turned a corner, with shares more-than-doubling in price since mid-August. So, what’s going on here? Chalk it up to two things. First, the reporting of strong fiscal results for the quarter ending June 30, 2023.During this period, ELTP’s earnings rose 267% year-over-year (or YoY). Second, the announcement of promising trial data related to a generic CNS stimulant that the company aims to bring to market.Still reasonably priced at 23 times earnings after its latest spike higher/emergence as one of the up-and-coming penny stocks, consider Elite Pharmaceuticals worthy of a closer look.Flexible Solutions International (FSI)Hand of woman watering small plant in pot shaped like growing graph representing growth stocks. Sleeper Growth StocksSource: Khakimullin Aleksandr / ShutterstockFlexible Solutions International (NYSEAMERICAN:FSI) is another low-priced name that recently I have argued is one of the best penny stocks to buy.I’m bullish on shares in this water evaporation control products company due to the fact it is a growth stock at a deep value price.FSI stock trades for only 7.6 times earnings. This is despite reporting steady revenue and earnings growth over the past five years.Yes, as one can quickly decipher from a reading of FSI’s latest financials, it’s not fully surprising shares trade at a low multiple.Macroeconomic headwinds are currently weighing on results. Last quarter, revenue declined 7% YoY, with earnings per share dropping by more than 46%.However, if economic conditions normalize in the coming year, the company could get back into growth mode. After rising 23.6% over the past twelve months, further gains may lie ahead.Mama’s Creations (MAMA)A photo of various food packaging containers.Source: Pixel-Shot / Shutterstock.comMama’s Creations (NASDAQ:MAMA), formerly MamaMancini’s, has been one of the up-and-coming penny stocks for quite some time.Since 2018, shares in this prepared refrigerated foods company have made a fivefold move higher.Year-to-date alone, MAMA stock is up by more than 117%. A high level of growth coupled with increased investor awareness has resulted in strong gains. Still,  it’s not as if this rising star in the food space is about to start delivering lackluster growth/share price performance.With earnings expected to rise by around 167% this fiscal year (ending January 2024), forecasts call for earnings growth to carry on for MAMA in the next fiscal year (ending January 2025). EPS in FY2025 is expected to grow by another 37.5%. Future gains may end up being more modest than those in the past, yet growth like this could drive another year of strong returns for shares.OppFi (OPFI)A concept image of a hand reaching toward the word "Fintech," which is surrounded by icons representing money and growth. Fintech Stock BargainsSource: Wright Studio / Shutterstock.comTake a look at a chart of OppFi’s (NYSE:OPFI) performance since its stock market debut, and you may question at first why I consider it one of the future penny stock winners. Yet while this fintech firm collapsed in price since going public via a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC) merger in 2021, keep a few things in mind.OPFI stock has kicked off a recovery thus far in the past month, rising by around 26.5%. Despite worries about the viability of its loan installment business during the current economic slowdown, the company has remained profitable, just recently raised its full-year guidance for 2023, and is expected to see a rebound in earnings next year.These strong results, coupled with a low valuation (only 6.6 times earnings), suggest that OPFI’s recent re-rating isn’t over, and shares could keep bouncing back to loftier price levels.Optex Systems (OPXS)Image of a penny held between two fingers with a white indoor backgroundSource: ShutterstockOptex Systems (NASDAQ:OPXS) has been one of the up-and-coming penny stocks over the past year, rising in price by nearly 48%.Many factors have played a role in sending shares in this manufacturer of optical sighting systems for military applications to higher prices.For one, the uplisting of OPXS stock from the OTC market, to the Nasdaq exchange. Along with this, the company has been experiencing double-digit levels of revenue and earnings growth.As seen in recent press releases, Optex keeps winning seven-figure military contracts. This may signal similar levels of growth will continue.Yet even with these solid prospects, and the stock’s big run-up in prices, OPXS still trades more like a value stock than a growth stock. Optex Systems trades for just 15.2 times trailing twelve month (or TTM) earnings. A bona fide “growth at a more-than-reasonable price” play, consider OPXS a buy.Profire Energy (PFIE)Production operator communicate between central control room by using radio to operate ball valve at offshore oil and gas processing platform for control gases and liquid crude oil process. Energy Stocks. Bargain energy stocks for JuneSource: Oil and Gas Photographer / Shutterstock.comHigh fossil fuel prices have been a boon for companies in all areas of the oil and gas sector, and Profire Energy (NASDAQ:PFIE) is no exception. The oil and gas rebound has meant greater demand for oilfield products/services. This has led to strong results for Profire.Revenue increased by 50% last quarter, and earnings spiked tenfold. With these results, it’s no surprise that PFIE stock has nearly doubled in price over the past month.Yet while such a big move over a short time may suggest a pullback is coming, these latest positive surprises may underscore a strong chance of further positive surprises in the coming quarters.Positive surprises could keep coming PFIE. This could enable the stock to stay on its current trajectory. Even if you choose not to buy today, ProFire should be at the top of your list of penny stocks to watch.On the date of publication, Thomas Niel did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.Thomas Niel, contributor for InvestorPlace.com, has been writing single-stock analysis for web-based publications since 2016.More From InvestorPlaceMusk’s “Project Omega” May Be Set to Mint New Millionaires. Here’s How to Get In.ChatGPT IPO Could Shock the World, Make This Move Before the AnnouncementIt doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now.The post 7 Up-and-Coming Penny Stocks to Put on Your Must-Buy List appeared first on InvestorPlace.

InvestorPlace

7 Up-and-Coming Penny Stocks to Put on Your Must-Buy List

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/7-coming-penny-stocks-put-105015190.html

e4722142-8abc-3220-9d8c-e5654ed3a11e

BWEN

Momentum investing is essentially the opposite of the tried-and-tested Wall Street adage -- "buy low and sell high." Investors following this investing style typically avoid betting on cheap stocks and waiting long for them to recover. They believe instead that one could make far more money in lesser time by "buying high and selling higher."Who doesn't like betting on fast-moving trending stocks? But determining the right entry point isn't easy. Often, these stocks lose momentum once their valuation moves ahead of their future growth potential. In such a situation, investors find themselves loaded up on expensive shares with limited to no upside or even a downside. So, going all-in on momentum could be risky at times.A safer approach could be investing in bargain stocks with recent price momentum. While the Zacks Momentum Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system) helps identify great momentum stocks by paying close attention to trends in a stock's price or earnings, our 'Fast-Paced Momentum at a Bargain' screen comes handy in spotting fast-moving stocks that are still attractively priced.Broadwind Energy, Inc. (BWEN) is one of the several great candidates that made it through the screen. While there are numerous reasons why this stock is a great choice, here are the most vital ones:A dash of recent price momentum reflects growing interest of investors in a stock. With a four-week price change of 25.3%, the stock of this company is certainly well-positioned in this regard.While any stock can see a spike in price for a short period, it takes a real momentum player to deliver positive returns for a longer time frame. BWEN meets this criterion too, as the stock gained 10.8% over the past 12 weeks.Moreover, the momentum for BWEN is fast paced, as the stock currently has a beta of 1.49. This indicates that the stock moves 49% higher than the market in either direction.Given this price performance, it is no surprise that BWEN has a Momentum Score of A, which indicates that this is the right time to enter the stock to take advantage of the momentum with the highest probability of success.Story continuesIn addition to a favorable Momentum Score, an upward trend in earnings estimate revisions has helped BWEN earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Our research shows that the momentum-effect is quite strong among Zacks Rank #1 and #2 stocks. That's because as covering analysts raise their earnings estimates for a stock, more and more investors take an interest in it, helping its price race to keep up. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>Most importantly, despite possessing fast-paced momentum features, BWEN is trading at a reasonable valuation. In terms of Price-to-Sales ratio, which is considered as one of the best valuation metrics, the stock looks quite cheap now. BWEN is currently trading at 0.46 times its sales. In other words, investors need to pay only 46 cents for each dollar of sales.So, BWEN appears to have plenty of room to run, and that too at a fast pace.In addition to BWEN, there are several other stocks that currently pass through our 'Fast-Paced Momentum at a Bargain' screen. You may consider investing in them and start looking for the newest stocks that fit these criteria.This is not the only screen that could help you find your next winning stock pick. Based on your personal investing style, you may choose from over 45 Zacks Premium Screens that are strategically created to beat the market.However, keep in mind that the key to a successful stock-picking strategy is to ensure that it produced profitable results in the past. You could easily do that with the help of the Zacks Research Wizard. In addition to allowing you to backtest the effectiveness of your strategy, the program comes loaded with some of our most successful stock-picking strategies.Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportBroadwind Energy, Inc. (BWEN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Despite Fast-paced Momentum, Broadwind Energy, Inc. (BWEN) Is Still a Bargain Stock

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/despite-fast-paced-momentum-broadwind-125005258.html

b86236fc-5e58-384d-906d-7346bcdb236c

BWXT

The hit movie Oppenheimer has reignited the general public’s interest in nuclear stocks. While the events of that movie may have occurred long ago, nuclear energy stocks are still on the cutting edge of development today.That’s because humanity is rushing to deploy affordable carbon-free energy solutions. Recent extreme weather has heightened the urgency for developing these alternatives. And while wind and solar have their merits, their lack of always-on capacity makes them rather fickle options for baseload generation. Nuclear, by contrast, is cheap, reliable, and works in all weather conditions.Today, there are roughly 440 nuclear power reactors in operation around the world. And for the first time in many years, there is a concerted rush to build more — roughly 60 additional reactors are under construction. This makes it a great time to look at these three undervalued nuclear power stocks to buy.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsBWX Technologies (BWXT)The logo for BWX Technologies (BWXT) is shown on a sign outside of an office building.Source: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.comBWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) is something of a one-stop shop for nuclear power technology and solutions.The company is well-known for its expertise in designing and producing nuclear reactors for the military; it has delivered more than 400 reactors to the U.S. Navy over the years. BWX is a big player in commercial power as well, delivering more than 300 steam reactors to nuclear power plants. It manages a dozen highly-important atomic sites for the U.S. government, as well.Arguably one of the most interesting applications of nuclear is in next-generation medicine. BWX should be a beneficiary of America’s aging demographics as it manufactures medical isotopes and supplies products for diagnostic imaging and radiotherapeutic treatments.BWXT stock recently rallied to 52-week highs thanks to an earnings report where top-line revenue growth dramatically exceeded analyst expectations. Even after the run-up in BWXT stock, shares remain attractive as it is a long-term winner with multiple angles to profit from the current nuclear renaissance.Story continuesCameco (CCJ)CCJ Stock: Hand in long yellow glove holding a chunk of uranium materialSource: shutterstock.com/RHJPhtotoandilustrationCameco (NYSE:CCJ) is one of the world’s dominant uranium mining companies, with operations spanning many countries and sites.The nuclear power business had been in a long slump following the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. However, nuclear is enjoying a comeback now as its cheap and carbon-free energy is particularly appealing given current geopolitical and climatological trends. In particular, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine emphasized the importance of moving away from Russian-sourced fossil fuels; uranium makes a great alternative.Cameco’s revenues had fallen from $1.5 billion in 2018 to a low of just $1.2 billion in 2021 and profits sagged as well. However, a full-on revival is underway, with analysts projecting that Cameco’s revenues will leap to $1.8 billion in 2023 and $2.1 billion. Demand was already exceeding supply, and a recent coup in the uranium-producing country of Niger could fuel further upside for both the price of uranium and CCJ stock.TC Energy (TRP)The logo for TC Energy out front of company headquarters in Canada.Source: Brett Holmes / Shutterstock.comTC Energy (NYSE:TRP) is a diversified energy giant primarily known for its oil and natural gas pipelines. And that’s fair, given the importance of those assets to TC’s portfolio.However, TC is also a leading player in Canada’s power industry thanks to its nuclear generation capacity. TC has investments in seven power generation facilities producing 4,200 megawatts (MW) of power. That’s enough to power roughly four million homes. Included in this is Bruce Power, the gargantuan nuclear power facility that produces 30% of Ontario’s power. TC owns 48.4% of Bruce Power.Next year, TC plans to spin off its slower-moving oil pipelines business. This will give investors in the remaining company a faster-moving business with more exposure to TC’s nuclear and other cleaner energy infrastructure. TRP stock has gotten hammered over the past year; as a result, shares now offer an electrifying 7.4% dividend yield.On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in BWXT and TRP stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.Ian Bezek has written more than 1,000 articles for InvestorPlace.com and Seeking Alpha. He also worked as a Junior Analyst for Kerrisdale Capital, a $300 million New York City-based hedge fund. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek.More From InvestorPlaceMusk’s “Project Omega” May Be Set to Mint New Millionaires. Here’s How to Get In.ChatGPT IPO Could Shock the World, Make This Move Before the AnnouncementIt doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now.The post The 3 Most Undervalued Nuclear Stocks to Buy Now: August 2023 appeared first on InvestorPlace.

InvestorPlace

The 3 Most Undervalued Nuclear Stocks to Buy Now: August 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-most-undervalued-nuclear-stocks-175040286.html

b033dd14-e1c9-3cad-8cb1-4877a179e060

BWXT

Under Initial Award of $47 Million, BWXT Will Process NNSA Scrap Material Into Usable HALEULYNCHBURG, Va., August 30, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) today announced a contract to process thousands of kilograms of government-owned scrap material containing enriched uranium that is unusable in its present form in order to produce more than two metric tons of feedstock that can be used for fuel to demonstrate advanced reactors and help decarbonize the U.S. power grid.BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. (BWXT) will conduct this project at its unique facilities located near Lynchburg, Virginia. The final form of the processed material will be High Assay Low Enriched Uranium, more commonly known as HALEU. The initial award will total $47 million, with a total contract value of up to $116.5 million, subject to annual congressional appropriations."We are proud to partner with BWXT on this important initiative. The project will clear over two metric tons of scrap material from the Y-12 National Security Complex, contributing to ongoing efforts to reduce the material accountability and inventory totals at the site, while also supporting the Department’s advanced reactor demonstration projects," said Jeff Chamberlin, Assistant Deputy Administrator for DOE/NNSA’s Office of Material Management and Minimization."We see tremendous value in partnering with the National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy in support of their clean energy programs," said Sharon Smoot, President of BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. "Interest in, and demand for, advanced reactors continues to grow for both national security and clean energy applications. One of BWXT’s key roles in moving the nuclear industry forward is leveraging its specialty materials capabilities to support domestic HALEU needs for the next generation of nuclear reactors."This contract adds to BWXT’s ongoing work with the NNSA to build the company’s HALEU production capabilities in support of converting high performance research reactors from highly enriched uranium to HALEU.Story continuesProject & Contract DetailsBWXT will produce over two metric tons of HALEU over the next five years, with several hundred kilograms expected to be available as early as 2024.To support this program, BWXT plans to hire approximately 20 new operators, engineers and safety personnel at its Lynchburg-area facility.The final product of the program will be HALEU feedstock in an oxide form at an enrichment level of 19.75%.The scrap material to be provided by the NNSA is currently in a variety of forms and enrichment levels, and it has been collected by the government from a number of different sources, primarily at the Y-12 National Security Complex.Forward Looking StatementsBWXT cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the performance, timing, impact and value, to the extent contract value can be viewed as an indicator of future revenues, of the HALEU manufacturing contract. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, modification or termination of the contract, delays in performance and the receipt and timing of necessary regulatory approvals. If one or more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see BWXT’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. BWXT cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.About BWXTAt BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), we are People Strong, Innovation Driven. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia, BWXT is a Defense News Top 100 manufacturing and engineering innovator that provides safe and effective nuclear solutions for global security, clean energy, environmental restoration, nuclear medicine and space exploration. With approximately 7,000 employees, BWXT has 14 major operating sites in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities. Follow us on Twitter at @BWXT and learn more at www.bwxt.com.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230830412988/en/ContactsMedia Contact Jud SimmonsSenior Director, Media & Public Relations434.522.6462 [email protected] Investor Contact Chase JacobsonVice President, Investor Relations980.365.4300 [email protected]

Business Wire

BWXT to Manufacture HALEU Feedstock for Advanced Reactors

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bwxt-manufacture-haleu-feedstock-advanced-104500852.html

a158114a-f5a2-3d57-9680-d76e70a46420

BX

(Bloomberg) -- Private credit lenders are just getting started in the world of consumer and asset based finance, according to Rob Camacho, Blackstone Inc.’s co-head of asset based finance within the firm’s Structured Finance Group.Most Read from BloombergEverything Apple Plans to Show on Sept. 12: iPhone 15, Watches, AirPodsUS Probes Made-in-China Chip as Tensions Flare Over TechnologyHong Kong to Ease Shutdown After Record Rain Overwhelms CityBoss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year SentenceApple’s 2-Day Slide Nears $200 Billion on China IPhone Curbs“Today, we are a very small portion of the whole asset based finance market,” he said in an interview. “There’s a lot of room to run.”Camacho spoke over a series of interviews that ended on Sept. 6. Here are some highlights of the conversation, which have been condensed and edited for clarity.Asset based finance has become the hot new thing across credit markets. Why is that?That’s certainly true and has to do with the current environment. A couple of years after the start of my career in 2004, the Federal Reserve brought rates over 5%, so investors were getting real yield in fixed-income. But that was short-lived. We then went through more than a decade of near-zero interest rates. This is the first time we are seeing higher real yields. All of a sudden, you can get high returns for investment-grade paper. That hasn’t happened in almost two decades.Second, some buyers such as insurance companies tend to prefer longer duration to match their liabilities. That dynamic has also made asset based finance much more important for firms such as ourselves, who manage money for insurers.The regional bank asset sales have also played a role in this. What do you see coming in the next few months?A lot of what we’re doing is partnering with regional banks. They have internal loan origination capabilities through relationships with local platforms that make auto loans, home improvement loans and any other product that is important to their deposit base. We can buy those loans, but we can also partner with them to augment their business, meaning they originate the same or more, but don’t keep all of it on their balance sheet.Story continuesMany banks are calling us to partner with them to continue serving local consumers. This generates fee income for the bank, and provides our clients high quality loans.As the cost of private capital is higher and there’s just less of it around, will consumers end up struggling?Something that deserves acknowledgment is how smooth this volatility has been for consumers. In 1994, when interest rates spiked, there was a lack of credit that made the Fed cut rates by July of ’95. This year, we’ve had both bank failures and rapid interest rate increases. And now we are seeing a symbiotic relationship between banks and private credit, where lending gaps are being filled instantaneously.From my perspective, it’s been remarkable that we haven’t had a larger contraction of credit at the consumer level. That’s probably one of the things encouraging a lot of people to change their calls to a soft landing – if credit was unavailable and with the consumer being two-thirds of the economy, we might have a different outcome.The volatility of the asset backed securities markets this year and last year also contributed to more companies turning to private lenders. But is the trend here to stay?The public ABS market is a great option for originators to distribute risk and raise capital. But we are talking with companies and banks who use ABS about how to diversify their funding models. We’ve bought loans from these firms, be it consumer or other types of loans, when the securitization markets were active.The volatility in the ABS market last year reinforced what we’ve supported for a long time: The importance of having a diversity of funding sources such as securitization, forward flow and balance sheet. Partnering with private credit managers that can provide capital from longer-dated insurance liabilities is a great way to achieve this, where there isn’t the dynamic of demand deposits that can disappear overnight. We believe that every originator should be thinking this way.Private credit took on corporate markets first and is now handling multi-billion dollar financings, competing with banks for those transactions. Will we see something similar in asset backed financings?I am biased, of course, but just as an anecdote: We’ve done several transactions over the past year close to a billion dollars, and one that brought our commitment over that mark. So, the capabilities of private debt within asset based finance are just going to expand.Large-scale players who need asset based debt will prefer to work with a single manager able to commit to those transactions. It will become more appealing over time to borrowers and investors, especially if the current yield environment persists. Today, we are a very small portion of the whole asset based finance market. There’s a lot of room to run.Right now, most of the companies that borrow this type of debt are small- or mid-sized firms with barely any corporate debt, right?You’re hitting the nail on the head. A loan originator’s largest liability is their ability to sell loans and continue their business. Therefore, originators tend to have very conservative capital structures. We’re partnering with them over time and it’s important they can service their customers. That’s really what we care about. Our customers are insurance companies and pension funds. Their customers are the consumers, and we need those consumers to have a good experience.But to be clear, it’s not just consumer loans — it’s everything. We have aircraft loans, fund finance and renewables like commercial and industrial solar. We have quite a large business of financing critical infrastructure such as cell towers as well as intellectual property.We’re financing all those things, and we really have just scratched the surface. As interest rates continue to remain where they are, more and more companies are going to be more efficient with their balance sheet, so many more assets are going to become financeable.Do you think we will see bigger originators, even ones that tap the investment-grade corporate bond markets, look for this type of financing from private lenders?A lot of folks that utilize asset based finance are companies that don’t have access to the broadly syndicated corporate bond market. However, I think you will see investment-grade companies tapping the asset based debt market. We certainly would love to engage in conversations with corporates and seek out places where we can provide flexibility. The corporate bond market is very standardized and that’s what makes it great and low cost.Still, there are companies that obviously have very specific assets on their balance sheet or a specific need where a financing solution can be customized. We can offer that.I think we are going to see some companies be quite strategic around financing and start to say, ‘Instead of issuing this huge corporate bond and risk our credit rating, why don’t we call private lenders and get customized solutions for these assets?’Most Read from Bloomberg BusinessweekHuawei’s Surprise Phone Gives Ammo to Biden Doubters on ChinaHow a Tiny Mexican Border City Built a Budget Dental EmpireLyme Disease Has Exploded, and a New Vaccine Is (Almost) HereIs Carlos Alcaraz the Next Billion-Dollar Tennis Player?The Hostile Takeover of Blue Cities by Red States©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg

Blackstone Says Private Credit Is Coming for Asset-Based Debt

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackstone-says-private-credit-coming-130000076.html

07684fe8-999f-3c5d-a7bb-a836705d4528

BX

(Bloomberg) -- Companies storming the bond market at record-breaking pace made one thing clear: They don’t expect rates to stay elevated for long.Most Read from BloombergTrudeau Is Stuck in India With Faulty Aircraft After Hearing Criticism From ModiIndia’s G-20 Win Shows US Learning How to Counter China RiseMeloni Tells China That Italy Plans to Exit Belt and RoadBiden Doubts China Able to Invade Taiwan Amid Economic WoesBoss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year SentenceMore than $110 billion in bonds sold globally this week, the busiest start to September on record, with issuance heavily skewed to debt due in under 10 years. The barrage was led by investment-grade issuers, teeing up a wave of junk, including billions of dollars in buyout funding.“Companies don’t really want to lock in these high yields for a very long time if they can avoid it,” said Matt Brill, head of North America investment-grade credit at Invesco Ltd., which manages $1.5 trillion in assets.Prospects of a soft landing in the US and hopes that central banks will soon be able to slow their tightening campaigns make longer-dated debt more attractive to investors. But companies are instead opting to borrow for shorter periods, hoping the money will get cheaper soon.“Many issuers are reluctant to lock in these higher absolute rates for longer term,” said Dan Mead, head of the investment-grade syndicate at Bank of America Corp., the biggest underwriter of corporate bonds, according to current Bloomberg rankings.The share of US high-grade corporate bond issuance with a maturity of 10 years or longer was just 10% in the month to Sept. 6, the lowest since at least 2010, according to strategists at Bank of America.The September rush to raise debt is fairly typical of the corporate bond market, which usually sees issuers take advantage of pent-up demand after a seasonal summer slowdown. It’s not expected to continue at the same pace, or shift credit spreads much from current compressed levels.Story continues“Investors were set up for this,” said Steven Boothe, head of global investment-grade fixed income at T. Rowe Price Group Inc, which manages about $1.4 trillion. “Once we get through this wave, there’s not going to be much remaining supply for the rest of the year.”Issuance will likely taper after the first two weeks of September as companies enter earnings blackout periods, according to Bank of America’s Mead. “There’s certainly the ability for this market to take on more supply but I also don’t think we will continue at this run rate,” said Mead in an interview.The US debt market is already showing some signs of indigestion, with some issuers struggling to generate enough demand to get deals done. Despite this, September sales already exceed $55 billion, nearly half way to the forecasted $120 billion total for the month — with another $30 billion expected in the week ahead.Even then, demand is anticipated to outstrip supply, as the predicted September total would fall short of most prior years, and year-to-date US high-grade sales are down 4%. And even after jumping 14% this year, global issuance is still running behind 2020 and 2021 levels, data compiled by Bloomberg show.“Companies don’t want to issue as much, which is going to make life a little harder for the buyers,” said Invesco’s Brill. “There won’t be the concessions that we had kind of hoped for and thought there would be.”In Europe, debt sales are also expected to slow down later this month. Companies had accelerated issuance to get ahead of central bank meetings and blackouts, according to Tom Moulds, senior portfolio manager at BlueBay Asset Management.“This seasonal period of activity has been well received,” said Moulds.Week in ReviewCompanies with leveraged loans and junk bonds coming due soon are increasingly turning to private credit to refinance.A group of lenders led by firms including Blue Owl Capital Inc. and Blackstone Inc. is providing $2.7 billion of financing to help fund BradyIFS’s acquisition of competitor Envoy Solutions.Private credit lenders are just getting started in the world of consumer and asset based finance, according to Rob Camacho, Blackstone’s co-head of asset based finance.Dwight Scott, Blackstone’s global head of credit, talked with Bloomberg News about what he sees as the advantage that private lending funds have over investment banks when funding take-private transactions.Blackstone’s credit unit is helping to finance Permira Holdings’ takeover of biopharmaceutical services firm Ergomed Plc.Meanwhile, Blackstone’s nearly $50 billion private credit fund for affluent individuals attracted the most capital in more than a year.Armen Panossian, one of Oaktree Capital Management’s two incoming co-chief executive officers, said the demand for private credit is tempting investors who might otherwise have placed funds with private equity firms.In another C-suite interview, Blue Owl Capital Inc.’s Marc Lipschultz said a $10 billion private credit loan is within reach.In emerging markets, private credit deals are picking up again as companies seek more flexible, longer-term financing in an uncertain economic environment, according to the Global Private Capital Association.Barclays Plc is finalizing a private credit partnership with AGL Credit Management.US regional banks may need to raise significant amounts of additional debt to comply with new regulatory requirements, but the extra capital might not be enough to prevent future failures.After bouncing back from Credit Suisse’s AT1 writedown debacle, the market for European banks’ riskiest debt is set to be tested again, with $84 billion notes facing calls in the next two years.AB CarVal Investors LP and Serone Capital Management LLP are joining a growing roster of hedge funds trying to carve out their first slice of Europe’s market for collateralized loan obligations.China’s housing crisis has engulfed the country’s private developers, producing record waves of defaults and leaving a shrinking group of survivors.Taiwanese banks are fast disappearing from loan deals with Chinese companies, the latest indication of a collective effort to cut exposure to the world’s second-biggest economy.On the MoveJudith Fishlow Minter, co-head of US loan capital markets at RBC Capital Markets, is retiring at the end of October.Deutsche Bank AG has hired Saju Georgekutty to lead investment-grade cash trading in the US. Georgekutty previously led the investment-grade bond trading desk at Morgan Stanley.26North Partners, the investment firm started by Apollo Global Management Inc. co-founder Josh Harris, named seven new partners for an array of roles as it starts a direct-lending business.Dan Loeb’s Third Point recruited Chris Taylor, a former New York Life Investments executive, to head the hedge fund firm’s new direct-lending strategy.Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce hired Andras Gajdos as a director to structure collateralized loan obligations. Gajdos previously worked at Morgan Stanley.Swedish lender SEB AB has appointed Karl-Johan Nystedt to lead a debt capital markets team focused on financial institutions in Stockholm.Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s US arm recruited Chris Castelli and Miguel Freyre as directors in its emerging markets fixed income sales and trading team.--With assistance from Ronan Martin, Taryana Odayar and Andrew Monahan.Most Read from Bloomberg BusinessweekHuawei’s Surprise Phone Gives Ammo to Biden Doubters on ChinaLyme Disease Has Exploded, and a New Vaccine Is (Almost) Here©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg

Companies Bet Against High for Long in Bond Blitz

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/companies-bet-against-high-long-190000199.html

9081585b-4b25-3b6a-8f1b-a2b9fe9a2486

BXC

BlueLinx CorporationSkaggs is a seasoned building products executive and will lead BlueLinx’s West RegionMARIETTA, Ga., Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC), a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products, is pleased to announce the appointment of Todd Skaggs as Regional Vice President (RVP) for the West Region, effective August 7, 2023. Skaggs, a highly accomplished building products executive, brings over two decades of experience in sales, distribution, and operational excellence to his new role. In this position, he will report directly to Shyam Reddy, President, and Chief Executive Officer of BlueLinx.Skaggs joins BlueLinx from Beacon Building Products, where he held several key leadership positions in roles of increasing responsibility over a span of fourteen years. He successfully propelled the growth of the Great Lakes and Pacific Regions, overseeing sales, operations, supply chain, human resources, safety, and facilities. Skaggs' remarkable career trajectory, from Branch Manager to Vice President, Pacific Region, speaks to his unwavering commitment to driving top-line growth while developing talent.Commenting on Skaggs' appointment, Reddy stated, "We are delighted to welcome Todd as our new Regional Vice President for the West Region. His extensive knowledge of the industry, executive presence, and exceptional leadership skills make him the perfect fit for this role. Todd has a proven ability to identify growth opportunities and expand into new markets, which aligns perfectly with our strategic goals. As we continue to prioritize the growth of our high-value specialty product categories and drive operational excellence, we are confident that Todd will play a pivotal role in our success."Skaggs expressed his enthusiasm for joining BlueLinx, stating, "I am eager to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact. Working closely with Shyam and the leadership team, my focus will be on strengthening our branch teams and fostering a high-performance culture. Together, we will solidify BlueLinx's position as a leading wholesale distributor of building products nationwide."Story continuesABOUT TODD SKAGGSSkaggs has a strong track record of leading growth in the industry and brings more than two decades of experience in sales, distribution, and operational excellence. He has spent the last fourteen years rising through the ranks from Branch Manager to Vice President of Beacon Building Products, one of the largest distributors of residential and non-residential roofing and complementary building products in North America. Prior to Beacon, Skaggs spent five years as a Facilities Manager of Linens ‘n Things. Prior to that, Todd spent four years as Plant Manager at Metaltek Manufacturing. Todd earned his B.S. from Southern Illinois and an MBA from the University of Louisville and is a veteran of the US Navy. Todd serves on the Board of Directors of the National Lumber and Building Materials Association.ABOUT BLUELINXBlueLinx (NYSE: BXC) is a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of residential and commercial building products with both branded and private-label SKUs across product categories such as lumber, panels, engineered wood, siding, millwork, and industrial products. With a strong market position, broad geographic coverage footprint servicing 50 states, and the strength of a locally focused sales force, we distribute our comprehensive range of products to approximately 15,000 customers including national home centers, pro dealers, cooperatives, specialty distributors, regional and local dealers, and industrial manufacturers. BlueLinx provides a wide range of value-added services and solutions to our customers and suppliers. We are headquartered in Georgia, with executive offices located at 1950 Spectrum Circle, Marietta, Georgia, and we operate our distribution business through a broad network of distribution centers. BlueLinx encourages investors to visit its website, www.BlueLinxCo.com, which is updated regularly with financial and other important information about BlueLinx.INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACTNoel Ryan(720) [email protected] AND COMMUNICATIONS [email protected]

GlobeNewswire

BlueLinx Welcomes Todd Skaggs as Regional Vice President

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bluelinx-welcomes-todd-skaggs-regional-200500401.html

2e8c78cd-c689-3b6c-a574-adf27370c1b1

BXC

Key InsightsThe projected fair value for BlueLinx Holdings is US$87.16 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to EquityBlueLinx Holdings' US$81.22 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate Analyst price target for BXC is US$103, which is 18% above our fair value estimateDoes the August share price for BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BXC) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for BlueLinx Holdings What's The Estimated Valuation?We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:Story continues10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate2024202520262027202820292030203120322033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$99.0mUS$81.7mUS$72.2mUS$66.8mUS$63.7mUS$62.1mUS$61.4mUS$61.3mUS$61.6mUS$62.2mGrowth Rate Estimate SourceAnalyst x2Est @ -17.52%Est @ -11.62%Est @ -7.49%Est @ -4.60%Est @ -2.57%Est @ -1.16%Est @ -0.16%Est @ 0.53%Est @ 1.02% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.7% US$90.3US$67.9US$54.7US$46.2US$40.2US$35.7US$32.2US$29.3US$26.9US$24.7("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$448mWe now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 9.7%.Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$62m× (1 + 2.2%) ÷ (9.7%– 2.2%) = US$846mPresent Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$846m÷ ( 1 + 9.7%)10= US$337mThe total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$785m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$81.2, the company appears about fair value at a 6.8% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.dcfThe AssumptionsWe would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at BlueLinx Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 9.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.502. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.SWOT Analysis for BlueLinx HoldingsStrengthDebt is not viewed as a risk.WeaknessEarnings declined over the past year.OpportunityGood value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.ThreatAnnual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 2 years.Next Steps:Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For BlueLinx Holdings, there are three fundamental items you should consider:Risks: To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with BlueLinx Holdings (including 1 which is concerning) .Future Earnings: How does BXC's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BXC)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/calculating-intrinsic-value-bluelinx-holdings-125435669.html

90d83c5f-d4a4-3423-9ba1-3b0f0c36f795

BXP

Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are companies that own and operate income-producing real estate in the property sector. REITs offer several benefits to investors, including high dividend payouts. REITs are required to distribute 90% or more of their profits to shareholders as dividends. The large dividend payments make REITs attractive to income investors who are hunting for yield.Additionally, REITs allow investors to speculate on and dabble in sections of the real estate market without having to buy individual properties themselves. Owing to their high dividends and focus on the real estate market, REITs are often a stable choice during times of market volatility. Think a market crash is coming? Here are three real estate stocks to buy for a soft landing.Simon Property Group (SPG)a person standing in a shopping mall with a bag in their hand. May CPI data.Source: ShutterstockSimon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) is a real estate investment trust. The firm has 232 property holdings and is the largest owner of shopping malls in the U.S. The company went through an extremely difficult time during the pandemic when most of its shopping malls were shut down. Those shutdowns later forced Simon Property Group to operate at reduced capacity. Consequently, SPG stock is down 36% over the last five years. However, more recently, the share price has been recovering, rising 14% in the last year.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsTrading at 20 times forward earnings, SPG stock looks reasonably valued right now. And it pays shareholders a strong quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, which yields over 6.50%. Few other stocks have as generous a quarterly payout.With the Covid-19 crisis behind it and consumers back to shopping in person, Simon Property Group looks poised for further gains. The median price target on SPG stock is currently $125.50, implying a 10% upside from current levels.American Tower (AMT)a ground-up view of multiple cell towers in a circleSource: ShutterstockAmerican Tower (NYSE:AMT) owns and operates towers that are essential for fifth-generation (5G) signal broadcasts. Currently, the company owns more than 200,000 communications sites globally, including more than 40,000 towers and broadcast sites in the U.S. and Canada. The company makes money by leasing space on its towers to telecommunication companies that use the towers for signal antennas and 5G equipment.Story continuesAMT stock has struggled recently, having declined by almost 30% over the last 12 months. The pullback has been due to higher interest rate expenses on its $39 billion of debt (the company funds its land purchases and tower construction with debt). However, there are still reasons to like AMT stock. The company currently offers a quarterly dividend of $1.57 per quarter for a yield of roughly 3.50%. Over the last 10 years, American Tower has increased its quarterly payout by 486%.Boston Properties (BXP)Closeup of mobile phone screen with logo lettering of boston properties, stock market chart background. BXP stock.Source: Ralf Liebhold / ShutterstockBoston Properties (NYSE:BXP) is a real estate investment trust that invests in top-tier office space across the U.S., from New York City to Los Angeles. The company currently owns nearly 200 commercial real estate properties that combined have 54.1 million square feet of office space.Boston Properties has had a tough go of it since the pandemic struck in 2020. With remote work continuing and many companies giving up their office leases, Boston Properties has struggled.BXP stock has been flat so far in 2023. However, over the past five years, the stock has fallen nearly 50%, pushing its price-earnings (P/E) ratio down to an attractive level of 15. Current trends look challenging. However, BXP stock offers a hefty quarterly dividend payment of 98 cents, which translates to a yield approaching 6%.Barclays (LON:BARC) bank recently raised its price target on the stock to $65 from $58, saying that it sees potential in Boston Properties for further growth and success in the real estate sector.On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.More From InvestorPlaceMusk’s “Project Omega” May Be Set to Mint New Millionaires. Here’s How to Get In.ChatGPT IPO Could Shock the World, Make This Move Before the AnnouncementIt doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now.The post Market Crash Coming? 3 Real Estate (REIT) Stocks to Buy for a Soft Landing. appeared first on InvestorPlace.

InvestorPlace

Market Crash Coming? 3 Real Estate (REIT) Stocks to Buy for a Soft Landing.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/market-crash-coming-3-real-111457179.html

e3c03747-15dc-3b9e-ae37-07464614ea49

BXP

BOSTON, September 05, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, announced today that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.98 per share of common stock for the period July 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023, payable on October 31, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 29, 2023.BXP (NYSE: BXP) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets - Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). As of June 30, 2023, including properties owned by unconsolidated joint ventures, BXP’s portfolio totals 54.1 million square feet and 191 properties, including 13 properties under construction/redevelopment. For more information about BXP, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230905241281/en/ContactsAT BXPMike LaBelleExecutive Vice President,Chief Financial [email protected] HanVice President, Investor [email protected]

Business Wire

BXP Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bxp-declares-regular-quarterly-dividend-201500739.html

3286477b-3e2d-36e1-a1a4-c206829bc4a0

BY

Potential Byline Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BY) shareholders may wish to note that the Lead Independent Director, Antonio Del Valle Perochena, recently bought US$433k worth of stock, paying US$21.63 for each share. However, it only increased shareholding by a small percentage, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either. Check out our latest analysis for Byline Bancorp The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Byline BancorpNotably, that recent purchase by Lead Independent Director Antonio Del Valle Perochena was not the only time they bought Byline Bancorp shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$24.99 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$22.34 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.While Byline Bancorp insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!insider-trading-volumeByline Bancorp is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.Does Byline Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Byline Bancorp insiders own 34% of the company, worth about US$334m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.Story continuesSo What Does This Data Suggest About Byline Bancorp Insiders?The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Byline Bancorp. Looks promising! While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Byline Bancorp and we suggest you have a look.Of course Byline Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Insider Buying: Byline Bancorp Lead Independent Director Bought US$433k Of Shares

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/insider-buying-byline-bancorp-lead-100622322.html

f4293b6f-10ef-38ee-befe-fb09ad83de9c

BY

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Byline Bancorp BY stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:PE RatioA key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.On this front, Byline Bancorp has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 8.07, as you can see in the chart below:Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThis level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 21.07. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Byline Bancorp’s current PE level puts it above its midpoint (which is 10.99) over the past five years. Moreover, the current level stands well below the highs for the stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point.Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFurther, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 14.49. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.Story continuesZacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchWe should also point out that Byline Bancorp has a forward PE  ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 8.16, which is higher than the current level. So, it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near term.P/S RatioAnother key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.Right now, Byline Bancorp has a P/S ratio of about 1.85. This is a bit lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.79 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchIf anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.Broad Value OutlookIn aggregate, Byline Bancorp currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Byline Bancorp a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.What About the Stock Overall?Though Byline Bancorp might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of ‘D’ and a Momentum score of ‘A’. This gives BY a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘B’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been mixed at best. The current quarter has seen no estimate go higher in the past sixty days compared to three lower, while the full year estimate has seen three up and one down in the same time period.This has had just a small impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has declined by 4.7% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has increased by 3.2%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action  for the stock in the chart below:Byline Bancorp, Inc. Price and ConsensusByline Bancorp, Inc. Price and ConsensusByline Bancorp, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Byline Bancorp, Inc. QuoteThis somewhat mixed trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.Bottom LineByline Bancorp is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (Bottom 9% out of more than 250 Zacks industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Banks – Northeast industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchSo, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportByline Bancorp, Inc. (BY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Should Value Investors Consider Byline Bancorp (BY) Stock Now?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/value-investors-consider-byline-bancorp-133500244.html

d7db4337-b08d-308d-a587-d799a7fd281c

BYD

Major indices are bouncing back, after selling off earlier this month. Bottom-fishers take note: there are still plenty of oversold stock opportunities out there for investors. There is not a concrete definition for the term “oversold stocks.”For instance, stocks can be “oversold” on a technical basis. A good example is with stocks defined as “oversold” according to the Relative Strength Index, or RSI. Per Finviz, over 1500 U.S.-listed stocks currently meet this definition (an RSI of 40 or less).But “oversold” isn’t limited to just technicals. Stocks can be “oversold” in another way: fundamentally. In other words, pushed down to a price below their underlying value.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsTaking these two definitions into account n going contrarian on stocks the market has bailed on, select names that fit either or both definitions.That’s the story here with these seven oversold stock opportunities. Each one is technically oversold and/or fundamentally oversold.Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO)Woman at the supermarket checkout, she is paying using a credit card, shopping and retail conceptSource: ShutterstockAcademy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) operates sporting goods and outdoor recreation product stores. Going public in 2020, shares performed strongly up until early 2023, thanks to the post-pandemic boom in demand for the products sold in its stores.Lately, however, ASO stock has pulled back. After zooming from its IPO price of $13 per share, to as much as $69.02 per share earlier this year, the stock has been knocked back to the high-$40s per share.Yet despite an earnings miss back in June, and rising concerns about softening demand, Academy Sports and Outdoors may just well be one stock due for a bounce.Oversold on a technical basis, ASO is bona fide deep value, based upon traditional valuation metrics. Shares today trade for only 7.2 times forward earnings. Merely meeting dialed-back expectations may be enough to drive a re-rating for the stock.Boyd Gaming (BYD)BYD Company Limited logo in front of their website. BYDDY stock.Source: T. Schneider / ShutterstockStory continuesBoyd Gaming’s (NYSE:BYD) is no longer technically oversold. However, in terms of valuation, shares in the casino and gaming company still fit well within the category of oversold stock opportunities.BYD stock today is trading for just 10.3 times earnings. Yes, this represents a premium to other regional casino stocks, like Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) and Bally’s (NYSE:BALY), each of which currently sports a single-digit earnings multiple.However, one-time gains related to lease and sale/leaseback transactions are skewing 2023 results for PENN and BALY.Earnings for both companies will drop considerably next year. Boyd trades for only 9.7 times estimated 2024 earnings, while Penn (24.3) and Bally’s (31.2) trade at higher multiples of their forecasted 2024 earnings.Value-conscious investors bullish on gaming should consider oversold BYD shares.Dollar General (DG)Dollar General (DG) store front with yellow store sign, middaySource: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.comStocks may have bounced back, but that’s not the case with Dollar General (NYSE:DG). After plunging after the discount retailer’s last earnings report in June, shares are again trending lower.At first, you may question why I think DG stock is one of the best market correction stock opportunities. The post-earnings share price collapse happened for a reason.In the earnings release, the company missed on earnings, and reported horrendous outlook, citing macro challenges like inflation and slowing economic growth, as well as other factors like rising retail theft.Still, Dollar General stock could now have solid rebound potential. Shares recently re-entered technical oversold territory.You can buy DG today for only 15.6 times earnings, below the 18-20 earnings multiple the stock has traded for during much of the past decade. After riding out today’s headwinds, DG may be due for a re-rating.FirstCash Holdings (FCFS)100 dollar bills being passed from one hand to the other. Can represent stimulus checks or payment. millionaire-maker stocksSource: Maryna Pleshkun/Shutterstock.comFirstCash Holdings (NASDAQ:FCFS) owns and operates pawn shops. The company has locations in the U.S., Mexico, as well as throughout Latin America. So far in August, FCFS has sold off, falling from around $100 per share to the high-$80s per share.However, this sell-off may benefit you, as it has made FCFS stock one of the top oversold stock opportunities.This pullback has pushed shares into oversold territory, according to the RSI technical indicator. The stock today also trades for 16.1 times earnings. This may be too low of a multiple, given earnings forecasts for the coming years.Last month, FirstCash reported solid quarterly results. This suggests future results could live up to the above-referenced forecasts. The company has also announced a big share repurchase program. These up to $200 million in stock buybacks may also provide a lift for oversold FCFS.FMC (FMC)FMC logo on the website homepage FMC stockSource: Casimiro PT / Shutterstock.comShares in agricultural sciences company FMC (NYSE:FMC) have taken a beating in recent months. Back in July, FMC’s latest fiscal results elicited a negative reaction among investors.Missing on earnings, and lowering full-year outlook, it makes sense that bearishness about the stock has remained high.Still, there may be a case to go bottom-fishing here with FMC stock. Sure, based on technicals, shares are making their way out of oversold territory.Based on future earnings forecasts, however, FMC looks like a steal at current prices. Yes, chances are challenges continue throughout 2023.However, the company could end up reporting a strong earnings rebound in 2024 and 2025. If current headwinds prove temporary, a big recovery may be in store for the stock. Currently trading in the high-$80s per share, within the past year, FMC has traded for as much as $134.38 per share.L3Harris (LHX)An office building with the logo for L3Harris Industries visible on the building.Source: JennLShoots / Shutterstock.comL3Harris (NYSE:LHX) has become technically and fundamentally oversold. Shares in the aerospace and defense firm currently have a 14-day RSI of below 30. LHX also sports a lower forward earnings multiple (14.5) than peers like Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT).What makes LHX stock one of the stocks with buying potential is that there’s big upside potential related to L3Harris’ recently-completed acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne.These include upside related to increased profitability, via cost synergies. There may be potential growth synergies as well.Also, LHX’s track record of steady earnings and dividend increases. These point to the stock getting back on an upward trajectory over a long time frame.As I pointed out back in June, LHX has increased its dividend by an average of  around 15% over the past five years. The company is also only four years away from achieving “dividend aristocrat” status.Macy’s (M)macy's mall department store storefrontSource: digitalreflections / Shutterstock.comGiven the current economic climate, it may seem like it’s the wrong time to buy into an old-school department store chain like Macy’s (NYSE:M). Yet while the famed retailer has walked back guidance considerably, suggesting trouble ahead in the upcoming quarters, you may not necessarily stay away from shares.Near-term uncertainty appears to be more than priced into M stock. At least, based on M stock’s current RSI, which is below 20. Macy’s also only trades for 4.4 times forward earnings. That’s not all. Something else makes M one of the top undervalued stock picks.As a Seeking Alpha commentator recently argued, Macy’s is also extremely cheap relative to its real estate assets. Over time, the company could realize this underlying value. By returning much of this cash to investors via buybacks and dividends, this could lead to a big recovery for M stock.On the date of publication, Thomas Niel did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.Thomas Niel, contributor for InvestorPlace.com, has been writing single-stock analysis for web-based publications since 2016.More From InvestorPlaceMusk’s “Project Omega” May Be Set to Mint New Millionaires. Here’s How to Get In.ChatGPT IPO Could Shock the World, Make This Move Before the AnnouncementIt doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now.The post 7 Oversold Stocks Begging for a Spot in Your Portfolio appeared first on InvestorPlace.

InvestorPlace

7 Oversold Stocks Begging for a Spot in Your Portfolio

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/7-oversold-stocks-begging-spot-110001516.html

92d8bc47-6752-3b00-9973-defdb9110e24

BYD

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing. Check out our latest analysis for Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming's Improving ProfitsBoyd Gaming has undergone a massive growth in earnings per share over the last three years. So much so that this three year growth rate wouldn't be a fair assessment of the company's future. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Boyd Gaming's EPS shot up from US$4.95 to US$7.22; a result that's bound to keep shareholders happy. That's a impressive gain of 46%.It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. It's noted that Boyd Gaming's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort our analysis of its margins. EBIT margins for Boyd Gaming remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 5.8% to US$3.7b. That's progress.You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.Story continuesearnings-and-revenue-historyFortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Boyd Gaming's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.Are Boyd Gaming Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?Since Boyd Gaming has a market capitalisation of US$6.5b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. Notably, they have an enviable stake in the company, worth US$1.6b. Coming in at 25% of the business, that holding gives insiders a lot of influence, and plenty of reason to generate value for shareholders. So there is opportunity here to invest in a company whose management have tangible incentives to deliver.Should You Add Boyd Gaming To Your Watchlist?For growth investors, Boyd Gaming's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. This EPS growth rate is something the company should be proud of, and so it's no surprise that insiders are holding on to a considerable chunk of shares. Fast growth and confident insiders should be enough to warrant further research, so it would seem that it's a good stock to follow. Even so, be aware that Boyd Gaming is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...Although Boyd Gaming certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Here's Why We Think Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Might Deserve Your Attention Today

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-think-boyd-gaming-141120675.html

639ea149-24a9-36a7-8869-a8d156e48cba

BYFC

LOS ANGELES, August 08, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Broadway Financial Corporation ("Broadway", "we", or the "Company") (NASDAQ Capital Market: BYFC), parent company of City First Bank, National Association (the "Bank", and collectively, with the Company, "City First Broadway"), reported consolidated net earnings of $243 thousand, or $0.00 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2023, compared to consolidated net earnings of $1.9 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022.The decrease in net earnings during the second quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of 2022, was primarily due to an increase in interest expense before provision for credit losses of $4 million, which more than offset growth in interest income of $3.3 million. The decrease in net earnings was also attributable to a provision for credit losses of $768 thousand during the second quarter of 2023, compared to a recapture of credit losses of $577 thousand during the second quarter of 2022, and an increase in non-interest expense of $238 thousand.For the first six months of 2023, the Company reported consolidated net earnings of $1.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to consolidated net earnings of $2.8 million, or $0.04 per diluted share for the first six months of 2022. The decrease primarily resulted from a provision for credit losses of $810 thousand during the first six months of 2023, compared to a loan loss provision recapture of $429 thousand during the first six months of 2022. In addition, non-interest expense increased by $484 thousand during the first six months of 2023, compared to the first six months of 2022. These amounts were partially offset by improvement in net interest income of $332 thousand during the first six months of 2023, compared to the first six months of 2022.Second Quarter 2023 Highlights:Total interest income increased by $3.3 million, or 38.5% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of 2022.Total net loans receivable increased by $56.6 million, or 7.4%, to $824.6 million at June 30, 2023, compared to December 31, 2022.The Bank did not have any non-accrual loans or non-performing assets at June 30, 2023.Total assets increased by $47.0 million, or 4.0%, to $1.2 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to December 31, 2022.Story continuesChief Executive Officer, Brian Argrett commented, "The second quarter continued to present significant economic headwinds affecting our operating performance and efforts to continue to expand at pace. Since receiving $150 million of preferred equity in early June 2022 pursuant to the United States Department of the Treasury’s Emergency Capital Investment Program ("ECIP"), we have endeavored to strategically grow our balance sheet and operational capabilities to fulfill the intersecting lending objectives of ECIP and our mission, and achieve the scale of operations afforded to us as a bank with over $275 million of equity. Those ambitious objectives require significant longer-term investments in infrastructure and personnel, but will in turn help us create a financial institution with substantially greater scale, profit potential, and ability to positively impact the low-to-moderate income communities that we serve.""Of course, these investments overlap a shifting banking and economic environment that is increasingly challenged as rising inflation has increased the cost of doing business, both in rising funding costs and higher non-interest expenses, including the cost of retaining and attracting quality personnel. Further, rising uncertainty from the eleven rate increases implemented by the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve since March 2022 has made loan originations more challenging as we remain prudent in our underwriting standards and portfolio management amid any early signs of weakness in the broader economy."However, I am also pleased to report that we expanded our loan portfolio by over 6% during the second quarter of 2023, which has now grown over 40% since the merger of Broadway and CFBanc Corporation on April 1, 2021, and 28% since the receipt of the ECIP equity capital in June last year. This growth has enabled City First Broadway to increase total interest income in each of the nine quarters since the merger without sacrificing our commitment to credit quality or our mission. I am also pleased to report that the Bank did not have any non-accrual loans at the end of the second quarter."Going forward, our dedication to prudent continued growth, greater efficiency, and deeper service to our communities has not abated; we intend to continue growing wisely and improving our profitability. In that regard, we have been implementing new efforts to retain and gather deposits to fund that forward growth, and those efforts have dramatically slowed the deposit migration that primarily occurred in the last three quarters of 2022. Fortunately, the Company has the necessary equity capital and liquidity to execute its plans and continue serving the pressing needs of low-to-moderate income communities."As always, we are particularly thankful for the dedication of our employees and the continuing support of our investors and partners. That support remains pivotal to our ability to serve our communities, customers, and broader stakeholders."Net Interest IncomeSecond Quarter of 2023 Compared to Second Quarter of 2022Net interest income before provision for credit losses for the second quarter of 2023 totaled $7.3 million, representing a decrease of $770 thousand, or 9.6%, from net interest income before loan loss provision of $8.0 million for the second quarter of 2022. The decrease resulted from additional interest expense due to an increase of $154.5 million in average borrowings during the second quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of 2022, at an average borrowing rate of 4.30% during the second quarter of 2023, compared to an average borrowing rate of 0.42% during the second quarter of 2022. The increase in borrowings was due to a decrease in average deposits of $187.3 million during the second quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of 2022, with all but $17.4 million of the decrease in average deposits occurring prior to the start of the second quarter of 2023. Net interest margin decreased to 2.52% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to 3.00% for the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to an increase of 190 basis points in the average cost of funds, which reflected higher rates paid on deposits and borrowings because of the ten interest rate increases implemented by the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve (the "Federal Reserve" or "FRB") since the middle of March of 2022 through June of 2023. The impact of the rising cost of funds was partially offset by an increase in the yield on interest-earnings assets of 86 basis points, primarily due to higher rates earned on securities, interest-earning deposits, and, to a lesser extent, the loan portfolio.First Six Months of 2023 Compared to the First Six Months of 2022Net interest income before provision for credit losses for the six months ended June 30, 2023 totaled $15.5 million, representing an increase of $332 thousand, or 2.2%, over net interest income before loan loss provision of $15.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase resulted from additional interest income, primarily generated from growth of $81.9 million in average interest-earning assets during the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2022. In addition, the overall rate earned on interest-earning assets increased by 88 basis points as the Bank earned higher rates on securities, interest-earning deposits, and, to a lesser extent, the loan portfolio. Net interest margin decreased, however, to 2.74% for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 2.89% for the six months ended June 30, 2022, primarily due to an increase of 148 basis points in the average cost of funds, which grew to 1.76% for the six months ended June 30, 2023, from 0.27% for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in the cost of funds reflected the higher rates that the Bank paid on deposits and borrowings because of the interest rate increases implemented by the FRB.The following tables set forth the average balances, average yields and costs, and certain other information for the periods indicated. All average balances are daily average balances. The yields set forth below include the effect of deferred loan fees, and discounts and premiums that are amortized or accreted to interest income or expense.For the Three Months Ended June 30,20232022(Dollars in thousands)AverageBalanceInterestAverageYieldAverageBalanceInterestAverageYieldAssetsInterest-earning assets:Interest-earning deposits$16,615$1674.02%$210,978$7881.49%Securities326,0512,1832.68%199,4727961.60%Loans receivable (1)797,5509,0984.56%657,0266,8794.19%FRB and FHLB stock (2)11,6021926.62%2,668385.70%Total interest-earning assets1,151,818$11,6404.04%1,070,144$8,5013.18%Non-interest-earning assets67,173107,531Total assets$1,218,991$1,177,675Liabilities and Stockholders’ EquityInterest-bearing liabilities:Money market deposits$115,578$9323.23%$197,751$1940.39%Savings deposits60,826160.11%62,458130.08%Interest checking and other demand deposits233,872870.15%292,248420.06%Certificate accounts153,9725141.34%199,0431000.20%Total deposits564,2481,5491.10%751,5003490.19%FHLB advances186,6642,1414.59%39,628850.86%Other borrowings75,8216823.60%68,352290.17%Total borrowings262,4852,8234.30%107,9801140.42%Total interest-bearing liabilities826,733$4,3722.12%859,480$4630.22%Non-interest-bearing liabilities113,803107,771Stockholders’ equity278,455210,424Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$1,218,991$1,177,675Net interest rate spread (3)$7,2681.93%$8,0382.96%Net interest rate margin (4)2.52%3.00%Ratio of interest-earning assets to interest-bearing liabilities139.32%124.51%(1)Amount is net of deferred loan fees, loan discounts and loans in process, and includes deferred origination costs and loan premiums.(2)FHLB is Federal Home Loan Bank.(3)Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the yield on average interest-earning assets and the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities.(4)Net interest rate margin represents net interest income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets.For the Six Months Ended June 30,20232022(Dollars in thousands)AverageBalanceInterestAverageYieldAverageBalanceInterestAverageYieldAssetsInterest-earning assets:Interest-earning deposits$15,187$2863.77%$215,622$8720.81%Securities327,1784,3632.67%180,2201,3471.49%Loans receivable (1)782,10117,6334.51%655,26014,0834.30%FRB and FHLB stock11,1754017.18%2,668785.85%Total interest-earning assets1,135,641$22,6833.99%1,053,770$16,3803.11%Non-interest-earning assets67,95395,848Total assets$1,203,594$1,149,618Liabilities and Stockholders’ EquityInterest-bearing liabilities:Money market deposits$125,603$1,7032.71%$202,414$3830.38%Savings deposits61,201290.09%64,641210.06%Interest checking and other demand deposits237,6681640.14%261,354810.06%Certificate accounts149,5509561.28%200,2442140.21%Total deposits574,0222,8520.99%728,6536990.19%FHLB advances165,5213,4644.19%58,7384271.45%Other borrowings72,9738252.26%68,185440.13%Total borrowings238,4944,2893.60%126,9234710.74%Total interest-bearing liabilities812,516$7,1411.76%855,576$1,1700.27%Non-interest-bearing liabilities112,281106,760Stockholders’ equity278,797187,282Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$1,203,594$1,149,618Net interest rate spread (2)$15,5422.24%15,2102.84%Net interest rate margin (3)2.74%2.89%Ratio of interest-earning assets to interest-bearing liabilities139.77%123.16%(1)Amount is net of deferred loan fees, loan discounts and loans in process, and includes deferred origination costs and loan premiums.(2)Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the yield on average interest-earning assets and the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities.(3)Net interest rate margin represents net interest income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets.Credit Loss ProvisionFor the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company recorded a provision for credit loss under the Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") methodology of $768 thousand, compared to a loan loss provision recapture under the previously used incurred loss model of $577 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2022. For the six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company recorded a provision for credit loss of $810 thousand, compared to a loan loss provision recapture of $429 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increases in the provisions for credit loss during the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2023 were due to growth in our loan portfolio and increases in loans rated as watch and special mention, which require additional provision for credit losses. Provisions for credit losses during the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2023 include provisions for off-balance sheet loan commitments of $83 thousand and $37 thousand, respectively. The loan loss provision recaptures during the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2022 were due to the Company’s capital contribution of $75 million to the Bank in June 2022, which reduced the multi-family and commercial real estate loan concentration levels, and thereby, the risk associated with the qualitative factors used to estimate the required allowance for loan and lease losses ("ALLL") at that time.The allowance for credit losses ("ACL") increased to $7.0 million as of June 30, 2023, compared to $4.4 million as of December 31, 2022. The increase was due to the implementation of the CECL methodology adopted by the Bank effective January 1, 2023, which increased the ACL by $1.8 million. In addition, the Bank recorded an additional increase in the provision for credit losses of $768 thousand during the second quarter of 2023. The CECL methodology includes estimates of expected loss rates in the future, whereas the former ALLL methodology did not.The Bank had no non-accrual loans at June 30, 2023 and loan delinquencies declined by over 50% during the second quarter to less than $8 million. No loan charge-offs were recorded during the three or six months ended June 30, 2023 or 2022.Non-interest IncomeNon-interest income for the second quarter of 2023 totaled $260 thousand, compared to $261 thousand for the second quarter of 2022.For the first six months of 2023, non-interest income totaled $549 thousand, compared to $542 thousand for the same period in the prior year. The increase was due to $70 thousand in fees from a revenue sharing agreement with another financial institution and an increase in branch services fees of $14 thousand for the first six months of 2023, compared to the first six months of 2022. These increases were partially offset by lower management fees from new market tax credit projects of $76 thousand in the first six months of 2023.Non-interest ExpenseTotal non-interest expense was $6.4 million for the second quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 2.5% from $6.3 million for the second quarter of 2022. The increase of $155 thousand was primarily due to higher compensation and benefits of $427 thousand and supervisory costs of $101 thousand. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in professional services of $351 thousand and a decrease of $22 thousand in various other operating expenses.For the first six months of 2023, non-interest expense totaled $12.7 million, representing an increase of 4.0% from $12.2 million for the same period in the prior year. The increase of $447 thousand primarily resulted from increases in compensation and benefits of $557 thousand, public relations expense of $60 thousand, trade organization expense of $55 thousand, Delaware franchise taxes of $46 thousand, occupancy expense of $46 thousand, supervisory costs of $38 thousand and various other operating expenses of $37 thousand. These increases were partially offset by decreases in professional services of $210 thousand and IT consulting costs of $182 thousand.Income TaxesIncome taxes are computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate of 21% and the combined California and Washington, D.C. income tax rate of 9.75% to taxable income. The Company recorded income tax expense of $93 thousand for the second quarter of 2023 and $757 thousand for the second quarter of 2022. The decrease in tax expense reflected a decrease of $2.3 million in pre-tax income between the two periods. The effective tax rate was 27.43% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to 29.00% for the second quarter of 2022.For the six months ended June 30, 2023, income tax expense was $767 thousand, compared to $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The decrease in tax expense reflected a decrease in pretax earnings of $1.3 million between the two periods. The effective tax rate was 29.41% for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 28.32% for the six months ended June 30, 2022.Balance Sheet SummaryTotal assets increased by $47.1 million at June 30, 2023, compared to December 31, 2022, reflecting growth in loans receivable held for investment of $56.6 million, partially offset by a decrease of securities available-for-sale of $6.2 million and a decrease of cash and cash equivalents of $5.4 million.Loans held for investment, net of the ACL, increased by $56.6 million to $824.6 million at June 30, 2023, compared to $768.0 million at December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to loan originations of $98.2 million during the first six months of 2023, which consisted of $38.6 million of multi-family loans, $36.6 million of construction loans and $23.0 million of other commercial loans, offset in part by loan payoffs and repayments of $41.6 million.Deposits decreased by $40.9 million to $646.1 million at June 30, 2023, from $686.9 million at December 31, 2022, with $29.4 million of the decrease occurring in the first quarter of 2023. The decrease in deposits was attributable to decreases of $36.7 million in liquid deposits (demand, interest checking and money market accounts), $17.8 million in Insured Cash Sweep ("ICS") deposits (ICS deposits are the Bank’s money market deposit accounts in excess of FDIC insured limits whereby the Bank makes reciprocal arrangements for insurance with other banks), $6.4 million in other certificates of deposit accounts and $1.9 million of savings deposits, partially offset by an increase of $22.0 million in Certificate of Deposit Registry Service ("CDARS") deposits (CDARS deposits are similar to ICS deposits, but involve certificates of deposit, instead of money market accounts). The decrease in deposits was primarily due to customers who left the Bank for higher interest rates available elsewhere. As of June 30, 2023, our uninsured deposits, including deposits from affiliates, represented 38% of our total deposits, as compared to 31% as of December 31, 2022.Total borrowings increased by $89.8 million to $295.6 million at June 30, 2023, from $205.8 million at December 31, 2022, primarily due to a net increase of $81.9 million in advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank (the "FHLB") of Atlanta and $7.9 million in additional securities sold under agreements to repurchase.Stockholders’ equity was $277.3 million, or 22.5% of the Company’s total assets, at June 30, 2023, compared to $279.5 million, or 23.60% of the Company’s total assets, at December 31, 2022. Upon adoption of CECL on January 1, 2023, the Company recognized a net decrease in retained earnings of $1.3 million. Stockholders’ equity also decreased due to an increase in unearned shares in the employee stock ownership plan of $2.8 million. These decreases were offset by year-to-date net earnings of $1.8 million and a reduction of $54 thousand in the accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax. Book value per share was $1.71 at June 30, 2023 and $1.76 at December 31, 2022.About Broadway Financial CorporationBroadway Financial Corporation conducts its operations through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, City First Bank, National Association, which is a leading community-oriented bank in Southern California and in the Washington, D.C. market serving low-to-moderate income communities. We offer a variety of residential and commercial real estate loan products for consumers, businesses, and non-profit organizations, other loan products, and a variety of deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, certificates of deposits, and retirement accounts.Stockholders, analysts, and others seeking information about the Company are invited to write to: Broadway Financial Corporation, Investor Relations, 4601 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 150, Los Angeles, CA 90010 or contact Investor Relations at the phone number or email address below.Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking InformationThis press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations or financial condition, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations and capital allocation and structure, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements typically include the words "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "poised," "optimistic," "prospects," "ability," "looking," "forward," "invest," "grow," "improve," "deliver" and similar expressions, but the absence of such words or expressions does not mean a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those identified below, which could cause actual future results to differ materially from historical results or from those anticipated or implied by such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates or, if no date is provided, then as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. The following factors, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from historical results or from those indicated by forward-looking statements included in this press release: (1) the level of demand for mortgage and commercial loans, which is affected by such external factors as general economic conditions, market interest rate levels, tax laws, and the demographics of our lending markets; (2) the direction and magnitude of changes in interest rates and the relationship between market interest rates and the yield on our interest‑earning assets and the cost of our interest‑bearing liabilities; (3) the rate and amount of loan losses incurred and projected to be incurred by us, increases in the amounts of our nonperforming assets, the level of our loss reserves and management’s judgments regarding the collectability of loans; (4) changes in the regulation of lending and deposit operations or other regulatory actions, whether industry-wide or focused on our operations, including increases in capital requirements or directives to increase loan loss allowances or make other changes in our business operations; (5) legislative or regulatory changes, including those that may be implemented by the current administration in Washington, D.C. and the Federal Reserve Board; (6) possible adverse rulings, judgments, settlements and other outcomes of litigation; (7) actions undertaken by both current and potential new competitors; (8) the possibility of adverse trends in property values or economic trends in the residential and commercial real estate markets in which we compete; (9) the effect of changes in economic conditions; (10) the effect of geopolitical uncertainties; (11) the discontinuation of LIBOR as an interest rate benchmark; (12) the impact of COVID-19 or other health crises on our future financial condition and operations; (13) the impact of recent volatility in the banking sector due to the failure of certain banks due to high levels of exposure to liquidity risk, interest rate risk, uninsured deposits and cryptocurrency risk; and (14) other risks and uncertainties. All such factors are difficult to predict and are beyond our control. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K or other filings made with the SEC and are available on our website at https://www.cityfirstbank.com/ and on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, except to the extent required by law. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.BROADWAY FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARYSelected Financial Data and Ratios (Unaudited)(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)June 30, 2023December 31, 2022Selected Financial Condition Data and Ratios:Cash and cash equivalents$10,742$16,105Securities available-for-sale, at fair value322,516328,749Loans receivable held for investment831,591772,434Allowance for credit losses(6,970)(4,388)Loans receivable held for investment, net of allowance824,621768,046Total assets1,231,3721,184,293Deposits646,063686,916Securities sold under agreements to repurchase71,38163,471FHLB advances210,268128,344Notes payable14,00014,000Total stockholders' equity277,289279,482Book value per share$1.71$1.76Equity to total assets22.52%23.60%Asset Quality Ratios:Non-accrual loans to total loans0.00%0.02%Non-performing assets to total assets0.00%0.01%Allowance for credit losses to total gross loans0.84%0.57%Allowance for credit losses to non-performing loansN/A3047.22%Non-Performing Assets:Non-accrual loans$-$144Loans delinquent 90 days or more and still accruing--Real estate acquired through foreclosure--Total non-performing assets$-$144Delinquent loans less than 30 days delinquent$7,988$8,253Delinquent loans 30 to 89 days delinquent$-$-Delinquent loans greater than 90 days delinquent$-$-Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,Selected Operating Data and Ratios:2023202220232022Interest income$11,772$8,501$22,946$16,380Interest expense4,5044637,4041,170Net interest income7,2688,03815,54215,210Credit loss provision (recapture)768(577)810(429)Net interest income after loan loss provision6,5008,61514,73215,639Non-interest income260261549542Non-interest expense(6,421)(6,266)(12,673)(12,226)Income before income taxes3392,6102,6083,955Income tax expense937577671,120Net income$246$1,853$1,841$2,835Net income (loss) - non-controlling interest3(1)2523Net income Broadway Financial Corporation$243$1,854$1,816$2,812Earnings per common share-diluted$0.00$0.03$0.03$0.04Loan originations (1)$63,983$49,158$98,219$103,863Net recoveries to average loans(0.00)%(2)(0.00)%(2)(0.00)%(2)(0.00)%Return on average assets0.08%(2)0.63%(2)0.31%(2)0.49%Return on average equity0.35%(2)3.52%(2)1.32%(2)3.03%Net interest margin2.52%(2)3.00%(2)2.74%(2)2.89%(1)Does not include net deferred origination costs.(2)AnnualizedView source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230808958230/en/ContactsInvestor RelationsBrenda J. Battey, Chief Financial Officer, (323) [email protected]

Business Wire

Broadway Financial Corporation Announces Results for Second Quarter 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/broadway-financial-corporation-announces-results-224000156.html

81245d04-a5c6-3503-a902-4a40ffc7eaff

BYFC

Many investors define successful investing as beating the market average over the long term. But its virtually certain that sometimes you will buy stocks that fall short of the market average returns. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term Broadway Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BYFC) shareholders, since the share price is down 41% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 30%. On top of that, the share price is down 5.4% in the last week.It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that. See our latest analysis for Broadway Financial There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.During five years of share price growth, Broadway Financial moved from a loss to profitability. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it's worth checking some other metrics too.We note that, in three years, revenue has actually grown at a 38% annual rate, so that doesn't seem to be a reason to sell shares. It's probably worth investigating Broadway Financial further; while we may be missing something on this analysis, there might also be an opportunity.The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).earnings-and-revenue-growthYou can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.A Different PerspectiveInvestors in Broadway Financial had a tough year, with a total loss of 15%, against a market gain of about 2.8%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 6% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Broadway Financial better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Broadway Financial that you should be aware of.Story continuesIf you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Broadway Financial (NASDAQ:BYFC) investors are sitting on a loss of 41% if they invested three years ago

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/broadway-financial-nasdaq-byfc-investors-103748100.html

d472da8c-6b63-33a2-958d-1206bcc82edb

BYND

In this article, we will take a look at the 10 best plant-based meat companies to buy. If you want to skip our discussion on the recent developments in the industry, go to the 5 Best Plant-Based Meat Companies to Buy.In recent times, the plant-based meat industry has received mainstream recognition. It has become a market of over $1 billion in the US alone. Consumers are driven by the need to replace traditional meat, and this has brought vegan companies to the forefront as they are continuously developing innovative meat substitutes. According to the International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group (IMARC Group), the size of the global plant-based meat industry stood at $10.8 billion at the end of 2022. The New York-based leading authority on market research anticipates the plant-based meat industry to compound at anannual rate of 25.6% to reach a size of $42.7 billion by 2028.Notable consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies like Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), Kellogg Company (NYSE:K), The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC), and others are acquiring plant-based meat brands. This trend is a clear indication of the growing recognition and demand for the best vegan stocks to buy in the market. Grocery chains like Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) and quick service restaurants (QSRs) like Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) have also entered into agreements with notable plant-based meat substitute companies like Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) and Impossible Foods. Furthermore, conventional meat-producing and processing companies like Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) and Cargill are adding plant-based meat assembly lines into their operations.Shifting Consumer PreferencesImpressively, the plant-based meat industry has observed an enormous growth of 118% since 2017. According to the non-profit Good Food Institute (GFI), plant-based meat companies’ market share stands at 1.3% of the overall meat category in the US, while the total meat category in the US is valued at around $897 billion as of 2022. It must be noted that the unit sales growth of plant-based food has outpaced the unit growth sales of animal-based food, reflecting consumers' increasing desire to reduce their reliance on traditional animal-based meats and the increased appeal of the best vegan stocks to buy.Story continuesAccording to research conducted by Credit Suisse, 66% of people between the ages of 16 and 40 spread across 10 countries intend to increase the use of plant-based meat and dairy products, which has garnered increased interest in the best vegan stocks to buy. UBS, a diversified financial services firm, further supports this notion by projecting that the plant-based meat industry will maintain an annual growth rate of over 30% in the next few years. To achieve this goal, some of the largest plant-based meat companies need to conduct extensive research and development (R&D) to enhance the taste of plant-based meat. According to marketing intelligence firm Mintel, 53% of consumers believe that there should be no difference between the tastes of plant-based and animal-based meat. The  Food Industry Association (FIA) builds on this insight, emphasizing that the perception of taste poses a significant challenge to the widespread adoption of plant-based meats among new consumers. Overall, 51% of meat consumers have highlighted taste as the reason for not choosing plant-based meat offerings.The landscape of top-tier plant-based meat companies in the United States continues to expand rapidly. As of November 2022, there were more than 60 plant-based meat companies in the US that have achieved sales of over half a million dollars. Overall, there are over 800 companies that are involved in the business of producing plant-based foods for the end consumer. This reflects the emergence of major players in the industry with every passing day. For investors looking to tap into this high-growth category, plant-based meat companies provide plenty of opportunities.Best Plant-Based Meat Companies to BuyPhoto by LikeMeat on UnsplashOur MethodologyWe have shortlisted the 10 best plant-based meat companies on the basis of hedge fund sentiment toward each stock. We have evaluated the hedge fund sentiment using Insider Monkey’s database of 910 hedge funds as of the second quarter of 2023. The stocks have been ranked in ascending order of the level of hedge fund ownership.10 Best Plant-Based Meat Companies to Buy10. Benson Hill, Inc. (NYSE:BHIL)Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15Value of Hedge Fund Holdings: $5,195,711Benson Hill, Inc. (NYSE:BHIL) is a Haslett, Michigan-based food tech company that uses data science and AI to guide the development of improved plant ingredients. The company's proprietary CropOS platform uses machine learning algorithms to optimize the genetics and attributes of crops like soy, pea, and wheat.During Q2 2023, the company reiterated its forecast of achieving $410 million in revenue with a gross profit in the range of $20 million to $25 million. Benson Hill, Inc. (NYSE:BHIL) finished Q2 2023 with a cash reserve of $118 million. The company anticipates to burn $53 million to $58 million during the second half of the year. Click here to read the company’s Q2 2023 earnings call transcript.9. Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND)Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15Value of Hedge Fund Holdings: $19,587,914Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND), one of the prominent players among the best vegan stocks to buy, is a leading producer of plant-based meat substitutes that came into being in 2009. The company designs its offerings to look and taste like traditional meat, appealing to both vegetarian and meat-eating consumers.Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) reported quarterly revenue of $102.1 million during Q2 2023. The entity anticipates to post total annual revenue in the range of $360 million to $380 million. Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) is working actively to bring out products to address the difference between plant and animal-based meat. You can check out the company’s Q2 2023 earnings call transcript here.8. MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17Value of Hedge Fund Holdings: $71,859,501MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) is an Atchison, Kansas-based producer of premium distilled spirits and food ingredient solutions founded in 1941. The company has developed a product line of plant-based meat proteins and binders that fall under the purview of the Ingredient Solutions segment.MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) has the ProTerra series that caters to the various end-market needs of plant-based meat substitutes. During Q2 2023, the company’s Ingredient Solutions segment saw its top line increase by 18% YoY to $34.5% and gross profit margin expand from 29% during the same period last quarter to 33.6%. MGP Ingredients, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MGPI) strong financials make it one of the best vegan stocks to buy.SouthernSun Asset Management, LLC shared its stance on MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) in its Q2 2023 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:“We initiated a position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) in April of 2023. MGPI is a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits and specialty wheat starches and proteins in the U.S. MGPI operates through three distinct segments, each of which has attractive opportunities for growth. Through its distilling solutions segment, MGPI is a leading supplier of distilled spirits, facilitating the creation of bourbons, rye whiskeys, American single malt whiskey, distilled gins and vodkas. U.S. spirits have gained significant share of total beverage alcohol over the last decade on a revenue basis, and American whiskey volumes, in particular, have experienced strong growth, driven in part by the growth of craft brands. In our opinion, these trends in consumption habits tend to be generational, which suggests that this recent demand strength is sustainable. MGPI maintains a large inventory of distilled spirits of various ages, which is used to produce its own branded spirits and sold to both multinational and craft producers of branded spirits. The time and capital required to age new distillate is significant, and that capital is often better used in marketing new brands, and MGPI is in a unique position to serve this market. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the vast majority of MGPI’s new distillate capacity was contracted for both this year and next as well as the majority of its aged distillate for this year.In addition to its distillation capabilities, MGPI also develops its own branded spirits, and the branded spirits segment provides a platform for both organic and acquisitive growth opportunities. Building individual spirits brands can be challenging, in part due to the three-tier distribution system in the U.S., which requires individual brands to comply with various state laws and state-licensed distributors. In 2021, MGPI acquired Luxco, Inc., which significantly expanded its portfolio of branded spirits and brought with it distribution capabilities across all 50 states. Since acquiring Luxco, MGPI has continued to expand its distilling capacity and increase sales of its premium, super premium and ultra premium brands, which generate higher gross margins than other portfolio brands. In June of 2023, MGPI announced the acquisition of Penelope Bourbon, adding a popular, growing bourbon brand to the portfolio. This transaction is the first tangible example of how we believe management will leverage its national distribution platform and existing distillation capacity to bring other brands into the fold. We expect acquisitions like this one to be a key element of the future value creation opportunity…” (Click here to read the full text)7. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19Value of Hedge Fund Holdings: $318,499,600Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), a notable company among the best vegan stocks to buy, entered the plant-based meat substitute arena following the acquisition of The Vegetarian Butcher in 2018. The entity makes meat substitutes like plant-based chicken, burgers, sausages, and nuggets using soy, wheat, and pea proteins. Since the acquisition, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) has expanded the presence of the Vegetarian Butcher to 30,000 retail outlets. The company has set a target of achieving $1.08 billion (€1 billion) in annual revenues through its plant-based meat and dairy business by 2027. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) has a presence in 190 countries across the globe.Here's what Tweedy, Browne said about Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:“Portfolio activity slowed somewhat during the quarter as equity prices advanced. While there were a few new positions established, and a few sales, portfolio activity overall was quite modest compared to the rather brisk pace of the last two years. On the sell side, a number of holdings were sold or pared back, including Unilever (NYSE:UN), among others. The stock prices of these businesses had either reached our estimates of their underlying intrinsic values or had been compromised in some way by virtue of declines in our estimates of their underlying intrinsic values and future growth prospects. Or, they may have been sold or trimmed to make room for new additions or to generate losses, which could be used to offset realized gains.”6. Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD)Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24Value of Hedge Fund Holdings: $281,627,400Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) is a Feltham, UK-based frozen foods company that offers a wide range of plant-based meat products through its Green Cuisine brand. The portfolio of plant-based meat products boosts the non-high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) profile of the company. The HFSS is a new regulation that the UK government is introducing to ensure the provision of healthy products to the end consumers.In a research note issued on August 10, Jonmichael Shekian at Citi assigned Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) stock a target price of $23 along with a Buy rating following the Q2 2023 results. The analyst believes that the company is seeing a positive turnaround in its volume and market share.In addition to Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD), Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN), Kellogg Company (NYSE:K), The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) are also among the best vegan stocks to buy. Click to continue reading and see the 5 Best Plant-Based Meat Companies to Buy. Suggested articles: 11 Best Global Luxury Stocks to Buy10 Best Value Penny Stocks To Buy12 Best Dividend Stocks For Steady GrowthDisclosure: None. 10 Best Plant-Based Meat Companies to Buy is originally published on Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey

10 Best Plant-Based Meat Companies to Buy

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-best-plant-based-meat-171053380.html

9b42cebb-4702-3b04-af5d-8a7dfd739f61

BYND

Buying a stock is easy, but buying the right stock without a time-tested strategy is incredibly hard. So what are the best stocks to buy now or put on a watchlist?Continue reading

Investor's Business Daily

These Are The 5 Best Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/5f695c14-bc91-363c-995e-e994c1f0807e/these-are-the-5-best-stocks.html

5f695c14-bc91-363c-995e-e994c1f0807e

BYRN

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: BYRN) is embarking on a proactive approach to restore its fruitful advertising partnership with Meta. Following the unexpected rejection of its ad campaigns, the company is making a direct appeal to CEO Mark Zuckerberg through strategically placed billboards scheduled to appear in Los Angeles, California and announcements via Byrna's social media channels.Additional detail: Byrna.com/commonsenseByrna specializes in manufacturing and selling non-lethal self-defense products, including pistol and rifle launchers, pepper spray, body armor, and recently introduced non-lethal 12-gauge shotgun ammunition (kinetic projectiles) used by law enforcement, private security and thousands of civilians. The Byrna non-lethal self-defense launchers are not classified by the ATF as a firearm, thus do not require licenses or permits to own and are available for use in all 50 states, as well as in Canada and Latin America.For two years, Byrna successfully ran advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, aimed at educating users about how their products enable consumers to defend themselves without resorting to lethal force. However, in early 2023 the social media networks began to reject Byrna's marketing efforts classifying their products as contraband. In previous instances, Byrna was able to successfully appeal their bot-reviewed advertising rejections to human reviewers who understood Byrna's mission to save lives. Ultimately, Byrna's marketing messages were allowed to be distributed to their intended audiences."Anyone who has experienced the frustration of working with Meta and facing ad rejections understands our predicament," remarked Luan Pham, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer at Byrna. "Our investment in these billboards, supported by our dedicated Byrna community, is an effort to connect with Mark Zuckerberg and engage in a conversation about how Byrna products strive to save lives, not take them. From the personal safety perspective, 'People have the Right to Know' all the options available. Once Mark becomes more knowledgeable with the facts, we are confident he will support Byrna's mission to provide law-abiding citizens with tools to defend their safety without having to take a life."Story continuesWith crime rates escalating daily, the need for ordinary citizens to safeguard themselves, their homes, and their families is evident. Byrna firmly believes that individuals should have the opportunity to protect themselves without resorting to lethal means. Reconsidering the classification of Byrna ads on the Meta ad platform can save lives. All it takes is one conversation with someone willing to invest the time to understand our mission and its potential impact.About Byrna:Byrna is a technology company specializing in the development, manufacture, and sale of innovative non-lethal personal security solutions. For more information on the Company, please visit the corporate website here or the Company's investor relations site here. The Company is the manufacturer of the Byrna® SD, LE, EP, TCR and Mission 4 personal security devices, state-of-the-art handheld CO2 powered launchers designed to provide a non-lethal alternative to a firearm for the consumer, private security, and law enforcement markets. To purchase Byrna products, visit the Company's e-commerce store.Byrna Urges Mark Zuckerberg to Reconsider Ad ClassificationByrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) (PRNewsfoto/Byrna Technologies Inc.)CisionView original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/byrna-urges-mark-zuckerberg-to-reconsider-ad-classification-301897416.htmlSOURCE Byrna Technologies Inc.

PR Newswire

Byrna Urges Mark Zuckerberg to Reconsider Ad Classification

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/byrna-urges-mark-zuckerberg-reconsider-141700677.html

896dd2c2-fb4a-3427-ba49-fd9dccd5bf71

BYRN

Byrna Technologies has achieved significant and sustained revenue growth, demonstrating its appeal to consumers who are attracted to less lethal self-defense products.Andover, Massachusetts, Sept. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andover, Massachusetts August 24, 2023, updated September 1, 2023More than 300,000 Byrna SD Launchers Sold Since Shipping began in June 2019Byrna Technologies Inc. (“Byrna” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BYRN) announced earlier this year that it had reached a revenue milestone, capping off four years of impressive growth. Revenues increased from $924 thousand in fiscal 2019, the year Byrna began to sell its launchers, to a record $48 million of net revenue for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022. Byrna’s early focus has been providing American gun owners with a safe, effective, and reliable less-lethal option in their arsenal to protect themselves and their families in situations that do not call for deadly force, tapping into an expected Total Addressable Market (TAM) of 100 million U.S. gun owners. Along the way, the Company has found that there also is strong demand for their Byrna launchers among non-gun owners looking for an effective form of protection for themselves and their families without the risk of causing grievous injury or death. Bryan Ganz, the Company’s President and CEO, says that many of their customers have been attracted to the Company’s products because they are looking for an effective means of self-defense without unnecessary or lasting harm, and without the risks associated with having a firearm in the house. “Crime and gun violence are two of Americans top concerns,” Ganz explained, “and we believe there are many people who feel a need to protect themselves and their loved ones, but are not willing to risk taking a human life.”Byrna’s historic growth was fueled through sales direct to consumers, through dealers (such as Bass Pro), to private security firms, and to law enforcement agencies, including police departments across the country. Today, Byrna counts more than 300 police departments amongst its customers, including large federal agencies such as the ATF and DEA. These customers welcome tools that can facilitate their job performance and protect officers and the public without the risk of excessive force. Story continuesGanz continued: “In many of our cities crime is on the rise, so police departments are increasingly called upon to deploy force to maintain the peace. Unfortunately, at the same time, accusations of police brutality have skyrocketed due to a number of high-profile police shootings. This can lead officers to hesitate when faced with a potentially deadly threat, potentially putting the life of the officer or the lives of innocent bystanders at risk. Our products offer a solution to this tension because with the Byrna launchers there should not be fatal mistakes.”The Company recently has run up against bans on advertising or promoting weapons on social media platforms that are applied blindly to less lethal tools for self-defense, like the Byrna launchers, and other weapons, including firearms. As the Company works on new marketing strategies to overcome these challenges, Ganz remains committed to its mission to provide civilians, law enforcement officers, and security professionals with a safe, reliable and effective alternative to traditional firearms to protect themselves, their families and their communities without the need to resort to deadly force. “We need to educate the public that there are safe, effective, and reliable alternatives to lethal force,” Ganz explained. “I am convinced we have only started to scratch the surface of the market. Most gun owners don’t know they have options, much less that our products exist. When they have an opportunity to try a Byrna launcher and learn about its effectiveness, many become customers. And whenever someone is carrying a less-lethal weapon rather than a firearm, we are potentially saving a life.”Forward- Looking StatementsThis news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of securities laws. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of current and historical fact, are forward-looking. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," and "believes" and statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "should," "might," "occur," or "be achieved," or "will be taken." Forward-looking statements include descriptions of currently occurring matters which may continue in the future. Forward-looking statements in this news release include but are not limited to our statements related to the Company's ability to access its total addressable market and the Company’s prospects for future growth. Forward-looking statements are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking statements are based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates, and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied.Any number of risk factors could affect our actual results and cause them to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this news release, including, but not limited to, disappointing market responses to current or future products or services; prolonged, new, or exacerbated disruption of our supply chain; the further or prolonged disruption of new product development; production or distribution or delays in entry or penetration of sales channels due to inventory constraints, competitive factors, pandemic-related factors, civil unrest, increased shipping costs or freight interruptions; prototype, parts and material shortages, particularly of parts sourced from limited or sole source providers; determinations by third party controlled distribution channels, including Amazon, not to carry or reduce inventory of the Company's products; determinations by advertisers to prohibit marketing of some or all Byrna products; potential cancellations of existing or future orders including as a result of any fulfillment delays, introduction of competing products, negative publicity, or other factors; product design defects or recalls; litigation, enforcement proceedings or other regulatory or legal developments; changes in consumer or political sentiment affecting product demand; regulatory factors including the impact of commerce and trade laws and regulations; import-export related matters or sanctions or embargos that could affect the Company's supply chain or markets; delays in planned operations related to licensing, registration or permit requirements; and future restrictions on the Company's cash resources, increased costs and other events that could potentially reduce demand for the Company's products or result in order cancellations. The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive; accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Investors should carefully consider these and other relevant factors, including those risk factors in Part I, Item 1A, ("Risk Factors") in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, should understand it is impossible to predict or identify all such factors or risks, should not consider the foregoing list, or the risks identified in the Company's SEC filings, to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties, and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.Media ContactName: David NorthEmail: [email protected]

GlobeNewswire

Self-Defense Products Specialist Byrna Technologies Establishes Itself as an Innovator in the Less Lethal Weapons Space

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/self-defense-products-specialist-byrna-132300214.html

962c5b2e-b62a-3d93-903b-357376604f3d

BZFD

Delivered Q2 Results in line with May outlookNEW YORK, August 08, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BuzzFeed, Inc. ("BuzzFeed" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: BZFD), a premier digital media company for the most diverse, most online, and most socially engaged generations the world has ever seen, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023."The strategic and organizational changes we discussed at our Investor Day in May have been fully executed, putting our rich library of IP and scaled, owned-and-operated properties at the center of our operating model to create innovative, audience-driven content," said Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed Founder & CEO.Peretti continued, "In response to consolidation and share gains across the major platforms that continue to impact audience traffic to our content, we are laser focused on our strategy to drive traffic directly to our owned-and-operated properties. We have introduced new AI-assisted content formats to increase engagement and offer innovative advertising opportunities to our clients, rapidly expanded our creator network to participate in the rise of vertical video, and prioritized destination news content to grow our HuffPost front page audience."Second Quarter 2023 Financial and Operational HighlightsBuzzFeed delivered Q2 revenues of $77.9 million, declining 27% compared to the second quarter of 2022Advertising revenue declined 33% year-over-year to $35.4 millionContent revenue declined 22% year-over-year to $31.5 millionCommerce and other revenues declined 17% year-over-year to $11.0 millionNet loss was $27.8 million, compared to a net loss of $23.6 million in the second quarter of 2022Adjusted EBITDA1 loss was $0.1 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $2.1 million in the second quarter of 2022Time Spent decreased 9% year-over-year to 96 million hours2BuzzFeed ended the period with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $41 millionStory continues_________________________1 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a description of how it is calculated and the tables at the back of this earnings release for a reconciliation of our GAAP and non-GAAP results.2 Excludes Facebook; see below.Third Quarter 2023 Financial OutlookFor the third quarter of 2023:We expect overall revenues in the range of $73 to $78 millionWe expect Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1 million in losses to $4 million in profitsThese statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially as a result of many factors. Refer to "Forward-Looking Statements" below for information on factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.Please see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a description of how Adjusted EBITDA is calculated. While Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, we have not provided guidance for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure — net loss — due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary to forecast such measure. Accordingly, a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to the corresponding GAAP measure is not available.Quarterly Conference CallBuzzFeed’s management team will hold a conference call to discuss our second quarter 2023 results today, August 8, at 5PM ET. The call will be available via webcast at investors.buzzfeed.com under the heading News and Events, and parties interested in participating must register in advance by clicking on this link. Upon registration, all telephone participants will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the conference call, including the dial-in number along with a unique PIN that can be used to access the call. While it is not required, it is recommended you join 10 minutes prior to the event start time. A replay of the call will be made available at the same URL.We have used, and intend to continue to use, the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.buzzfeed.com as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.DefinitionsBuzzFeed reports revenues across three primary business lines: Advertising, Content and Commerce and other. The definition of "Time Spent" is also set forth below.Advertising revenues are primarily generated from advertisers for ads distributed against our editorial and news content, including display, pre-roll and mid-roll video products sold directly to brands and also programmatically. We distribute these ad products across our owned and operated sites as well as third-party platforms, primarily YouTube and Apple News.Content revenues are primarily generated from clients for custom assets, including both long-form and short-form content, from branded quizzes to Instagram takeovers to sponsored content and content licensing. Revenues for film and TV projects are also included here.Commerce and other revenues consist primarily of affiliate commissions earned on transactions initiated from our editorial shopping content. Revenues from our product licensing businesses are also included here. Additionally, we generate other revenues from the production of live and virtual events such as ComplexCon and ComplexLand.Time Spent captures the time audiences spend engaging with our content across our owned and operated sites, as well as YouTube and Apple News, as measured by Comscore. This metric excludes time spent with our content on platforms for which we have minimal advertising capabilities that contribute to our Advertising revenues, including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter. There are inherent challenges in measuring the total actual number of hours spent with our content across all platforms; however, we consider the data reported by Comscore to represent industry-standard estimates of the time actually spent on our largest distribution platforms with our most significant monetization opportunities. Effective January 1, 2023, we exclude time spent on Facebook from our measure of Time Spent as our monetization strategy is increasingly focused on advertising on our owned and operated properties, and Facebook now contributes an immaterial amount of advertising revenue. Time Spent on Facebook, as reported by Facebook, was approximately 15 million hours and 48 million hours for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and 37 million hours and 120 million hours for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, which is not included in Time Spent discussed above.About BuzzFeed, Inc.BuzzFeed, Inc. is home to the best of the Internet. Across pop culture, entertainment, shopping, food and news, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, and buy now — and into the future. Born on the Internet in 2006, BuzzFeed is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the Internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives.Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresAdjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures and represent key metrics used by management and our board of directors to measure the operational strength and performance of our business, to establish budgets, and to develop operational goals for managing our business. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net loss, excluding the impact of net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests, income tax (benefit) provision, interest expense, net, other expense, net, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, change in fair value of derivative liability, restructuring costs, transaction-related costs, certain litigation costs, public company readiness costs, and other non-cash and non-recurring items that management believes are not indicative of ongoing operations. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by revenue for the same period.We believe Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are relevant and useful information for investors because they allow investors to view performance in a manner similar to the method used by our management. There are limitations to the use of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin and our Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin should not be considered a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial results as determined in accordance with GAAP are included at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data.Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts (including our outlook for Q3 and FY 2023) or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "affect," "anticipate," "believe," "can," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include, for example, statements about: (1) anticipated trends, growth rates, and challenges in our business and in the markets in which we operate; (2) demand for products and services and changes in traffic; (3) changes in the business and competitive environment in which we operate; (4) developments and projections relating to our competitors and the digital media industry; (5) the impact of national and local economic and other conditions and developments in technology, each of which could influence the levels (rate and volume) of our advertising, the growth of our business and the implementation of our strategic initiatives; (6) poor quality broadband infrastructure in certain markets; (7) technological developments including artificial intelligence; (8) our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, officers, key employees or directors; (9) our business, operations and financial performance, including expectations with respect to our financial and business performance and the benefits of our restructuring, including financial projections and business metrics and any underlying assumptions thereunder and future business plans and initiatives and growth opportunities; (10) our future capital requirements and sources and uses of cash, including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain additional capital in the future, any impacts of bank failures or issues in the broader United States financial system, any restrictions imposed by our debt facilities, and any restrictions on our ability to access our cash and cash equivalents; (11) expectations regarding future acquisitions, partnerships or other relationships with third parties; (12) developments in the law and government regulation, including, but not limited to, revised foreign content and ownership regulations; (13) the anticipated impacts of current global supply chain disruptions, further escalation of tensions between Russia and Western countries and the related sanctions and geopolitical tensions, as well as further escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China; the inflationary environment; the tight labor market; the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving strains of COVID-19; and other macroeconomic factors on our business and the actions we may take in the future in response thereto; and (14) our ability to maintain the listing of our Class A common stock and warrants on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the sections entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company’s annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.BUZZFEED, INC.Financial Highlights(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,20232022%Change20232022%ChangeAdvertising$35,397$53,224(33)%$69,645$101,892(32)%Content31,47940,284(22)%53,09772,563(27)%Commerce and other11,02513,252(17)%22,31223,863(6)%Total revenue$77,901$106,760(27)%$145,054$198,318(27)%Loss from operations$(20,087)$(24,888)19%$(49,805)$(60,186)17%Net loss$(27,836)$(23,581)(18)%$(64,097)$(68,147)6%Adjusted EBITDA$(137)$2,093(107)%$(20,328)$(14,671)(39)%BUZZFEED, INC.Consolidated Balance Sheets(Unaudited, dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)June 30, 2023(Unaudited)December 31,2022AssetsCurrent assetsCash and cash equivalents$41,295$55,774Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $1,747 as at June 30, 2023 and $1,879 as at December 31, 2022)70,855116,460Prepaid expenses and other current assets22,24426,373Total current assets134,394198,607Property and equipment, net14,89217,774Right-of-use assets56,53766,581Capitalized software costs, net21,50919,259Intangible assets, net113,737121,329Goodwill91,63291,632Prepaid expenses and other assets13,72014,790Total assets$446,421$529,972Liabilities and Stockholders' EquityCurrent liabilitiesAccounts payable$37,294$29,329Accrued expenses16,02426,357Deferred revenue6,3558,836Accrued compensation19,96031,052Current lease liabilities22,01623,398Other current liabilities5,0373,900Total current liabilities106,686122,872Noncurrent lease liabilities49,03659,315Debt155,979152,253Derivative liability60180Warrant liabilities593395Other liabilities440403Total liabilities312,794335,418Commitments and contingenciesStockholders’ equityClass A Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 700,000 shares authorized; 136,615 and 126,387 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively1413Class B Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 20,000 shares authorized; 6,676 and 6,678 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively11Class C Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000 shares authorized; 0 and 6,478 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively-1Additional paid-in capital720,231716,233Accumulated deficit(587,026)(523,063)Accumulated other comprehensive loss(2,370)(1,968)Total BuzzFeed, Inc. stockholders’ equity130,850191,217Noncontrolling interests2,7773,337Total stockholders’ equity133,627194,554Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$446,421$529,972BUZZFEED, INC.Consolidated Statements of Operations(Unaudited, dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,2023202220232022Revenue$77,901$106,760$145,054$198,318Costs and ExpensesCost of revenue, excluding depreciation and amortization50,50761,52997,851122,347Sales and marketing14,13518,68829,43636,491General and administrative21,35632,56543,35865,127Research and development3,96010,2537,77917,445Depreciation and amortization8,0308,61316,43517,094Total costs and expenses97,988131,648194,859258,504Loss from operations(20,087)(24,888)(49,805)(60,186)Other expense, net(3,675)(3,440)(3,055)(2,578)Interest expense, net(5,631)(5,032)(11,049)(9,821)Change in fair value of warrant liabilities3956,775(198)3,359Change in fair value of derivative liability1,1254,8001203,225Loss before income taxes(27,873)(21,785)(63,987)(66,001)Income tax (benefit) provision(37)1,7961102,146Net loss(27,836)(23,581)(64,097)(68,147)Net income attributable to the redeemable noncontrolling interest---164Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests-184(260)348Net loss attributable to BuzzFeed, Inc.$(27,836)$(23,765)$(63,837)$(68,659)Net loss per Class A, Class B and Class C common share:Basic and diluted$(0.20)$(0.17)$(0.45)$(0.50)Weighted average common shares outstanding:Basic and diluted141,950137,381141,330136,906BUZZFEED, INC.Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows(Unaudited, USD in thousands)Six Months Ended June 30,20232022Operating activities:Net loss$(64,097)$(68,147)Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:Depreciation and amortization16,43517,094Unrealized (gain) loss on foreign currency(809)2,811Stock based compensation3,37915,224Change in fair value of warrants198(3,359)Change in fair value of derivative liability(120)(3,225)Amortization of debt discount and deferred issuance costs2,9152,527Deferred income tax3412,088Provision for doubtful accounts(259)554Loss (gain) on investment3,590(1,260)Gain on disposition of assets(175)-Non-cash lease expense10,1739,727Changes in operating assets and liabilities:Accounts receivable45,87151,831Prepaid expenses and other current assets and prepaid expenses and other assets1,653(3,216)Accounts payable9,889(1,167)Accrued compensation(11,102)(7,242)Accrued expenses, other current liabilities and other liabilities(11,302)(7,733)Lease liabilities(11,822)(11,592)Deferred revenue(2,488)1,284Cash used in operating activities(7,730)(3,801)Investing activities:Capital expenditures(471)(2,828)Capitalization of internal-use software(7,676)(6,646)Proceeds from sale of asset175-Cash used in investing activities(7,972)(9,474)Financing activities:Proceeds from exercise of stock options29360Payment for shares withheld for employee taxes(220)(1,635)Borrowings on Revolving Credit Facility2,1285,000Payments on Revolving Credit Facility(1,317)-Proceeds from the issuance of common stock in connection with at-the-market offering, net of issuance costs765-Deferred reverse recapitalization costs-(585)Cash provided by financing activities1,3853,140Effect of currency translation on cash and cash equivalents(162)(1,409)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents(14,479)(11,544)Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period55,77479,733Cash and cash equivalents at end of period$41,295$68,189BUZZFEED, INC.Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP(Unaudited, USD in thousands)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,2023202220232022Net loss(27,836)(23,581)(64,097)(68,147)Income tax (benefit) provision(37)1,7961102,146Interest expense, net5,6315,03211,0499,821Other expense, net3,6753,4403,0552,578Depreciation and amortization8,0308,61316,43517,094Stock-based compensation2,25711,2843,37915,224Change in fair value of warrant liabilities(395)(6,775)198(3,359)Change in fair value of derivative liability(1,125)(4,800)(120)(3,225)Restructuring(1)9,6633,4769,6635,319Transaction-related costs(2)—2,177—5,132Litigation costs(3)—1,224—1,224Public company readiness costs(4)—207—1,522Adjusted EBITDA$(137)$2,093$(20,328)$(14,671)Adjusted EBITDA margin(0.2)%2.0%(14.0)%(7.4)%Net loss as a percentage of revenue(5)(35.7)%(22.1)%(44.2)%(34.4)%(1) Refer to Item 2. "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" within our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2023 for a discussion of the distinct restructuring activities during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. We exclude restructuring expenses from our non-GAAP measures because we believe they do not reflect expected future operating expenses, they are not indicative of our core operating performance, and they are not meaningful in comparisons to our past operating performance.(2) Reflects transaction-related costs and other items which are either not representative of our underlying operations or are incremental costs that result from an actual or contemplated transaction and include professional fees, integration expenses, and certain costs related to integrating and converging IT systems.(3) Reflects costs related to litigation that are outside the ordinary course of our business. We believe it is useful to exclude such charges because we do not consider such amounts to be part of the ongoing operations of our business and because of the singular nature of the claims underlying the matter.(4) Reflects one-time initial set-up costs associated with the establishment of our public company structure and processes.(5) Net loss as a percentage of revenue is included as the most comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted EBITDA margin, which is a Non-GAAP measure.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230807520304/en/ContactsMedia Carole Robinson, BuzzFeed: [email protected] Relations Amita Tomkoria, BuzzFeed: [email protected]

Business Wire

BuzzFeed, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/buzzfeed-inc-announces-second-quarter-201000884.html

9cddc67c-1428-37bb-b913-14ec030c0570

BZFD

It's not a secret that every investor will make bad investments, from time to time. But it should be a priority to avoid stomach churning catastrophes, wherever possible. So we hope that those who held BuzzFeed, Inc. (NASDAQ:BZFD) during the last year don't lose the lesson, in addition to the 76% hit to the value of their shares. That'd be a striking reminder about the importance of diversification. We wouldn't rush to judgement on BuzzFeed because we don't have a long term history to look at. On top of that, the share price is down 14% in the last week. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.After losing 14% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance. Check out our latest analysis for BuzzFeed Given that BuzzFeed didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.BuzzFeed's revenue didn't grow at all in the last year. In fact, it fell 12%. That's not what investors generally want to see. The market obviously agrees, since the share price tanked 76%. That's a stern reminder that profitless companies need to grow the top line, at the very least. But markets do over-react, so there opportunity for investors who are willing to take the time to dig deeper and understand the business.The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).earnings-and-revenue-growthIt's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on BuzzFeedStory continuesA Different PerspectiveWhile BuzzFeed shareholders are down 76% for the year, the market itself is up 4.0%. While the aim is to do better than that, it's worth recalling that even great long-term investments sometimes underperform for a year or more. With the stock down 11% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with BuzzFeed , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Simply Wall St.

Loss-making BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) sheds a further US$10m, taking total shareholder losses to 76% over 1 year

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/loss-making-buzzfeed-nasdaq-bzfd-113456556.html

704a461c-dc63-3771-9a08-142023ac164b

BZH

The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has TopBuild (BLD) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Construction peers, we might be able to answer that question.TopBuild is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 99 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. TopBuild is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLD's full-year earnings has moved 13.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.According to our latest data, BLD has moved about 76.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 29.4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that TopBuild is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another Construction stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Beazer Homes (BZH). The stock has returned 118% year-to-date.The consensus estimate for Beazer Homes' current year EPS has increased 14.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Looking more specifically, TopBuild belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 27 individual stocks and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 32.3% so far this year, so BLD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.Story continuesIn contrast, Beazer Homes falls under the Building Products - Home Builders industry. Currently, this industry has 19 stocks and is ranked #4. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +40.3%.Investors with an interest in Construction stocks should continue to track TopBuild and Beazer Homes. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportTopBuild Corp. (BLD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBeazer Homes USA, Inc. (BZH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

Are Construction Stocks Lagging TopBuild (BLD) This Year?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/construction-stocks-lagging-topbuild-bld-134010452.html

df40e061-c314-3655-adef-28438c3748ff

BZH

Investment in construction projects in the United States is rebounding at a steady pace as the homebuilding industry continues to recover. This is also a clear sign that slowing inflation is finally helping the economy make a recovery.Inflation has the biggest and most far-reaching impact on the construction sector as the Fed’s monetary tightening campaign has made borrowing costs and mortgage rates higher and expensive. However, signs of cooling inflation have once again made people confident, leading to a jump in spending on construction projects.Given this scenario investing in homebuilding stocks like KB Home KBH, Beazer Homes USA, Inc. BZH, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. MDC and Meritage Homes Corporation MTH would be a wise decision.Homebuilding Driving Construction SpendingSpending on construction projects increased 0.7% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,972.6 billion compared with June’s revised figure of $1,958.9 billion, the Commerce Department said on Sep 1. On a year-over-year basis, construction spending increased a solid 5.5% in July.Construction spending has now totaled $1,101.5 billion in the first seven months of the year, up 3.7% from the year-ago period. Spending on construction projects has increased for four straight months, indicating that the economy is making a steady rebound after a difficult 2022.July’s jump was once again driven by spending on private construction projects, which rose 1% month over month. This was led by a 1.4% rise in residential construction projects.Spending on single-family construction projects rose 2.8% in July after a 2.1% increase in June. Spending on multifamily housing projects increased 0.2% in July.Spending on private non-residential structures increased 0.5%, while spending on manufacturing construction climbed a solid 1%.The homebuilding industry has faced significant challenges as a result of the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike strategy aimed at tackling multi-decade high inflation. Since March 2022, the Fed has raised interest rates by 525 basis points on 11 occasions, except for pausing once in June. The federal funds rate now stands in the range of 5.25%-5.5%.Story continuesThis has significantly elevated mortgage rates. The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage is more than 7% presently, according to mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.However, there remains a severe shortage of single-family homes available for sale. This shortage has contributed to continued investment in construction projects, particularly single-family homes, as demand for housing persists in spite of the high cost of borrowing.Inflation has declined significantly over the past year and the labor market has finally started showing signs of cooling. This has raised hopes that the Fed might soon end its monetary tightening campaign. This definitely bodes well for the housing market as this will bring down mortgage rates.Our ChoicesGiven this scenario, it will be prudent to invest in homebuilding stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank that are poised to gain from the rise in spending on construction projects. We have narrowed down our search to four such stocks. Each of these stocks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.KB Home is a well-known homebuilder in the United States and one of the largest in the state.  KBH’s Homebuilding operations include building and designing homes that cater to first-time, move-up and active adult homebuyers on acquired or developed lands. KB Home also builds attached and detached single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums.KB Home’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is 8.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 5.4% over the past 60 days. KBH currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.Beazer Homes USA designs, builds and sells single-family homes. BZH designs homes to appeal primarily to entry-level and first move-up home buyers. Beazer Homes’objective is to provide customers with homes that incorporate quality and value.Beazer Homes’ expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 9.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 20.3% over the past 60 days. BZH presently sports a Zacks Rank #1.M.D.C. Holdings is engaged in homebuilding and financial services in the United States. MDC’s Homebuilding operations include land acquisition and development, home construction, sales and marketing as well as customer service. The segment delivers single-family detached homes to first-time and move-up buyers under the name Richmond American Homes.M.D.C. Holdings’ expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 11.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 38% over the past 60 days. MDC presently carries a Zacks Rank #1.Meritage Homes is one of the leading designers and builders of single-family homes.  The company primarily engages in building and selling single-family homes for entry-level, first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult buyers in historically high-growth regions of the United States.Meritage Homes’ expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 25.7% over the past 60 days. MTH presently has a Zacks Rank #1.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportKB Home (KBH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMeritage Homes Corporation (MTH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBeazer Homes USA, Inc. (BZH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportM.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

Zacks

4 Stocks to Buy on a Solid Jump in Construction Spending

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-stocks-buy-solid-jump-133700375.html

1f1a7fd7-c49c-36d9-9648-1b73b95d6200