MKS Instruments (MKSI) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of 1.45% and 2.87%, respectively, for the quarter ended September 2021. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock? MKS Instruments (MKSI) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.79 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.75 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.93 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 1.45%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of analysis and processing equipment for semiconductor companies would post earnings of $2.93 per share when it actually produced earnings of $3.02, delivering a surprise of 3.07%.Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.MKS Instruments, which belongs to the Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry, posted revenues of $741.9 million for the quarter ended September 2021, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.87%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $589.8 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.MKS Instruments shares have lost about 5.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 21.8%.What's Next for MKS Instruments?While MKS Instruments has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for MKS Instruments was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.87 on $737.95 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $11.12 on $2.92 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery is currently in the top 15% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 report MKS Instruments, Inc. (MKSI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here......»»

"I just wonder, will I be allowed to run for president again if I move to another country?" Trump said in a statement Wednesday. Trump James Devaney Donald Trump bashed Democrats' proposal to tax billionaires to pay for their social spending bill. This comes after House Finance Chair Richard Neal said the proposal is off the table. But his Senate counterpart and author of the proposal Ron Wyden said the tax is not "dead." Former president Donald Trump assailed the new billionaire tax proposal from Democrats on Wednesday, suggesting he might flee the United States to escape taxation. But he says he'll be sticking around."I just wonder, will I be allowed to run for president again if I move to another country?" he said in a statement. "No, I guess I'll just stick it out, but most others won't!"Trump was referring to the new billionaire tax proposal that's already on life-support in the Senate only hours after it was introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. It would levy a 23.8% capital gains tax rate on assets like stocks and bonds in an effort to compel roughly 700 billionaires to pay annual taxes on their gains, regardless if they sell or not.Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia imperiled the measure after criticizing it as both punitive to successful people and unworkable. "I don't like the connotation that we're targeting different people," he told reporters, floating a 15% "patriotic tax" without elaborating further.As Insider previously reported, this proposal would slap people like Tesla CEO Elon Musk with a $10 billion annual bill, which Musk himself spoke out against on Twitter: "Eventually, they run out of other people's money and then they come for you."An analysis from economist Gabriel Zucman found that the tax could bring in $500 billion, $275 billion of which would come from just the top 10 richest billionaires. If the proposal came to fruition, it would be a "a major structural reform to the tax system" to tax income from wealth like income from wages, according to Frank Clemente, executive director at the left-leaning advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness.But just a day after the proposal was brought to the table, House Finance Chair Richard Neal struck it down, telling reporters on Wednesday that it's "very unlikely" the tax will be used to finance Democrats' scaled-down social-spending bill. At the same time, though, Neal's counterpart Wyden was far from throwing in the towel on the proposal he authored."I'm not saying that it's dead!" Wyden told Insider, noting that the White House still backs the proposal.This disagreement is emblematic of the negotiations Democrats are undergoing as they work to develop a framework for their scaled-down bill. Free community college, paid family and medical leave, and an extended five-year child tax credit are already reportedly on the chopping block, and a major Democratic priority to roll back Trump tax cuts were struck down by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

An analysis by The Business Journals found that among 50 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States, rents grew more than 10% between the first quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021. Here's how Greater Philadelphia compares......»»

Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesSophisticated algorithms, based on 25 macro-economic drivers used to calculate appropriate fair values for asset prices, have identified the top five publicly traded companies for which inflation is turning into a significant headwind. The companies are Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. REGN; Centerspace CSR; SBA Communications Corp. SBAC; ResMed Inc. RMD; and DexCom Inc. DXCM, according to Colin Stewart, head of Americas for Quant Insight in New York, citing data as of Wednesday.The data incorporates moves in 2- to 10-year U.S. inflation expectations, using inflation swaps, to determine which companies stand the best chance of weathering a period of higher prices, by being able to pass that on to consumers. The five companies seen as getting helped the most by higher inflation acting as a tailwind are Endo International PLC ENDP; Boston Beer Co. SAM; Calavo Growers Inc. CVGW; Discovery Inc. DISCA; and SelectQuote Inc. SLQT, according to Quant Insight’s data.Higher inflation tends to provide a positive lift to stocks, until either it compresses profit margins and a company lacks the pricing power to make up for it, or markets expect interest-rate rises to put the brakes on economic growth. Bond markets worldwide are now factoring in the potential for a global rate-hiking cycle beginning next year, as evidenced by the pronounced flattening of curves across countries.“Markets, we feel, are hampered by the inability to mark to macro,” or trade at levels that accurately reflect the state of the economy, Stewart said by phone. “We put eyes on this very big blind spot for investors, by calculating all the factors that drive up asset prices across equities, ETFs, rates, commodities and crypto currencies.”A recent explosion of alternative data sources like Quant Insight, based in London and New York, is giving investors access to tools previously reserved for only hedge funds, with traditional money managers scouring the world for information that can give them an edge. Read: The explosion of ‘alternative’ data gives regular investors access to tools previously employed only by hedge fundsQuant Insight serves portfolio managers, traders, insurers and corporations. It was co-founded by former hedge-fund manager Mahmood Noorani and has a team of academic advisors that include astrophysics professor Michael Hobson of the University of Cambridge in the U.K. In March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic in the U.S., the firm predicted the S&P 500 Index SPX would bottom out on the 15th of that month — roughly a week sooner than the index actually did. Quant Insight isn’t currently giving a forecast for the S&P 500, saying the index is now trading “out of regime,” or for reasons that are outside of economic fundamentals, Stewart says. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 edged higher along with the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP as investors weighed earnings from tech stocks. Meanwhile, Dow industrials DJIA were under modest pressure in afternoon trade. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news......»»

Biden's big social-spending bill keeps getting smaller as centrists Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema block most ways of paying for it. President Joe Biden. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Democrats are removing paid family and medical leave from the social spending package, according to Politico. It's yet another big cut to the bill, which is getting whittled down as negotiations with moderates continue. However, lawmakers and advocates say the fight to implement paid leave isn't over. Senate Democrats have decided to strip paid family and medical leave benefits from Biden's social spending package, Politico reporter Eleanor Mueller said on Wednesday. Sources told Mueller that attempts to water down the bill didn't work out. In recent weeks, Democrats have scrambled for new revenue sources to pay for the "Build Back Better" bill, which was initially targeted at $4 trillion and may end up at $1.5 trillion or smaller. Key centrist Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have variously opposed most of the new tax proposals that Democrats have suggested."It is still a little inconceivable to me that after the last 18 months - and everything we saw during the course of the pandemic - that we are hearing that Congress is going to leave paid leave for another day," Laura Narefsky, counsel on education and workplace justice at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), told Insider.The family and medical leave benefits were a central focus of President Joe Biden during his 2020 campaign and, even if enacted, would leave Americans with some of the stingiest leave benefits in all the developed world, The New York Times' Upshot reported. The US is already an outlier when it comes to benefits. A report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that, out of 41 countries, the US was the only one not to mandate paid leave. The US also has no federal sick leave mandates."If the news reports are true, this is a devastating and incomprehensible blow to American families," Vicki Shabo, a paid leave expert at think tank New America, told Insider.She added: "This was a once in a generation opportunity to build on the Family and Medical Leave Act to finally bring the promise of paid leave to the US, to end its outlier status, and to make good on promises that the president ran on."Advocates for paid leave argue that it bolsters the economy, with an analysis from the University of Massachusetts Amherst finding that paid leave would increase Americans' incomes by $28.5 billion every year.Paid leave is among the latest of many cuts Democrats have reportedly made to appease Joe Manchin, including tuition-free community college and an expanded five-year child tax credit. But some lawmakers have been clear that they will keep fighting for all of their priorities until they see the final version of the bill."Until the bill is printed, I will continue working to include paid leave in the Build Back Better plan," New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has been a leading advocate for paid leave, said in a statement on Wednesday.Other lawmakers have been making similar statements with regards to wanting to see the final bill text. Michigan Rep. Andy Levin, for example, told Insider during a Tuesday interview that he will keep fighting to get free community college in the bill "right up to the closing whistle."Democrats were hoping to pass the "Build Back Better" bill - along with a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill - this week."We cannot recover holistically unless you provide the full range of supports that working families need," Narefsky said. "It is so short-sighted to think that because we are trimming down some abstract top-line number, that that is the end goal. Paid family and medical leave is a benefit that touches everyone."This story is developing. Please check back for updates. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The Zacks Focus List offers investors a way to easily find top-rated stocks and build a winning investment portfolio. Here's why you should take advantage. Here at Zacks, we offer our members many different opportunities to take full advantage of the stock market, as well as how to invest in ways that lead to long-term success.One of our most popular services, Zacks Premium offers daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank; full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List; Equity Research reports; and Premium stock screens like the Earnings ESP filter. All are useful tools to find what stocks to buy, what to sell, and what are today's hottest industries.The service also includes the Focus List, which is a long-term portfolio of top stocks that boast a winning, market-beating combination of growth and momentum qualities.Breaking Down the Zacks Focus ListIf you could get access to a curated list of stocks to kickstart your investment portfolio, wouldn't you jump at the chance to take a peek?That's what the Zacks Focus List offers. It's a portfolio of 50 stocks that serve as a starting point for long-term investors to build their individual portfolios. The stocks included in the list are set to outperform the market over the next 12 months.Additionally, each selection is accompanied by a full Zacks Analyst Report, something that makes the Focus List even more valuable. The report explains in detail why each stock was picked and why we believe it's good for the long-term.The portfolio's past performance only solidifies why investors should consider it as a starting point. For 2020, the Focus List gained 13.85% on an annualized basis compared to the S&P 500's return of 9.38%. Cumulatively, the portfolio has returned 2,519.23% while the S&P returned 854.95%. Returns are for the period of February 1, 1996 to March 31, 2021.Focus List MethodologyWhen stocks are picked for the Focus List, it reflects our enduring reliance on the power of earnings estimate revisions.Earnings estimates are expectations of growth and profitability, and are determined by brokerage analysts. Together with company management, these analysts examine every aspect that may affect future earnings, like interest rates, the economy, and sector and industry optimism.What a company will earn down the road also needs to be taken into consideration, and this is why earnings estimate revisions are so important.The stocks that receive positive changes to earnings estimates are more likely to receive even more upward changes in the future. Take this example: if an analyst raised their estimates last month, they'll probably do so again this month, and other analysts will follow.Utilizing the power of earnings estimate revisions is when the Zacks Rank joins the party. A unique, proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank uses changes to quarterly earnings expectations to help investors create a winning portfolio.There are four main factors behind the Zacks Rank: Agreement, Magnitude, Upside, and Surprise. Each one of these features is then given a raw score that's recalculated every night and compiled into the Rank. Using this data, stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Strong Sell."The Focus List is comprised of stocks hand-picked from a long list of #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) ranked companies, meaning that each new addition boasts a bullish earnings consensus among analysts.Because stock prices react to revisions, buying stocks with rising earnings estimates can be very profitable. Focus List stocks offer investors a great opportunity to get into companies whose future earnings estimates will be raised, potentially leading to price momentum.Focus List Spotlight: CBRE Group (CBRE)Headquartered in Dallas, TX, CBRE Group, Inc. is a commercial real estate services and investment firm, offering a wide range of services to tenants, owners, lenders and investors in office, retail, industrial, multi-family and other types of commercial real estates in all major metropolitan areas across the globe. The services include facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. With more than 100,000 employees the company serves clients in more than 100 countries.Since being added to the Focus List on March 13, 2017 at $36.40 per share, shares of CBRE have increased 187.34% to $104.21. The stock is currently a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank.One analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2021. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.03 to $4.93. CBRE boasts an average earnings surprise of 53.5%.Additionally, CBRE's earnings are expected to grow 50.8% for the current fiscal year.Reveal Winning StocksUnlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. You'll quickly identify which stocks to buy, hold and sell, and target today's hottest industries, to help improve the performance of your portfolio. Gain full access now >> Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 report CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here......»»

Finding strong, market-beating stocks with a positive earnings outlook becomes easier with the Focus List, a top feature of the Zacks Premium portfolio service. Here at Zacks, we offer our members many different opportunities to take full advantage of the stock market, as well as how to invest in ways that lead to long-term success.One of our most popular services, Zacks Premium offers daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank; full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List; Equity Research reports; and Premium stock screens like the Earnings ESP filter. All are useful tools to find what stocks to buy, what to sell, and what are today's hottest industries.The service also includes the Focus List, which is a long-term portfolio of top stocks that boast a winning, market-beating combination of growth and momentum qualities.Breaking Down the Zacks Focus ListBuilding an investment portfolio from scratch can be difficult, so if you could, wouldn't you take a peek at a curated list of top stocks?That's what the Zacks Focus List offers. It's a portfolio of 50 stocks that serve as a starting point for long-term investors to build their individual portfolios. The stocks included in the list are set to outperform the market over the next 12 months.Additionally, each selection is accompanied by a full Zacks Analyst Report, something that makes the Focus List even more valuable. The report explains in detail why each stock was picked and why we believe it's good for the long-term.The portfolio's past performance only solidifies why investors should consider it as a starting point. For 2020, the Focus List gained 13.85% on an annualized basis compared to the S&P 500's return of 9.38%. Cumulatively, the portfolio has returned 2,519.23% while the S&P returned 854.95%. Returns are for the period of February 1, 1996 to March 31, 2021.Focus List MethodologyWhen stocks are picked for the Focus List, it reflects our enduring reliance on the power of earnings estimate revisions.Brokerage analysts are in charge of determining a company's growth and profitability expectations, or earnings estimates. These analysts work together with company management to evaluate all factors that may affect future earnings, like interest rates, the economy, and sector and industry optimism.Earnings estimate revisions are very important, since investors also need to take into consideration what a company will earn in the future.When a stock receives upward earnings estimate revisions, it will likely get even more positive changes in the future. For instance, if an analyst raised their earnings outlook last month, they'll probably do so again this month, and other analysts will follow.Harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions is where the Zacks Rank comes in. The Zacks Rank, which is a unique, proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions to make it easier to build a winning portfolio.There are four main factors behind the Zacks Rank: Agreement, Magnitude, Upside, and Surprise. Each one of these features is then given a raw score that's recalculated every night and compiled into the Rank. Using this data, stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Strong Sell."The Focus List is comprised of stocks hand-picked from a long list of #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) ranked companies, meaning that each new addition boasts a bullish earnings consensus among analysts.Since stock prices respond to revisions, it can be very profitable to buy stocks with rising earnings estimates. By buying Focus List stocks, then, you're likely getting into companies whose future earnings estimates will be raised, potentially leading to price momentum.Focus List Spotlight: Huntington Ingalls (HII)Based in Newport News, VA, Huntington Ingalls Industries designs, builds and maintains nuclear-powered ships such as aircraft carriers and submarines, and non-nuclear ships, such as surface combatants, expeditionary warfare/amphibious assault and coastal defense surface ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe.On May 9, 2016, HII was added to the Focus List at $155.20 per share. Shares have increased 31.66% to $205.11 since then, and the company is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank.One analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2021. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.24 to $13.56. HII boasts an average earnings surprise of 25.5%.Additionally, HII's earnings are expected to grow 35.6% for the current fiscal year.Reveal Winning StocksUnlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. You'll quickly identify which stocks to buy, hold and sell, and target today's hottest industries, to help improve the performance of your portfolio. Gain full access now >> Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 report Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here......»»

October 2021 will be long-remembered in the investing world for the launch of bitcoin futures ETFs. October 2021 will be long-remembered in the investing world for the launch of bitcoin futures ETFs. ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO, the first US listed bitcoin ETF has started trading on Oct 19, making the world’s biggest cryptocurrency available in a tax-efficient wrapper to investors via any brokerage account.VanEck will join ProShares in launching a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (XBTF). Plus, Valkyrie Investments’s bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund also won the green signal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund (BTFD) started trading from Oct 22.These are great success from the issuers’ point of view. Despite the humongous success witnessed lately, regulatory concerns have always been a hurdle for bitcoin. There have been repeated attempts in the past by ETF issuers to bring an exchange-traded-product on the cryptocurrency. But none received the SEC nod up until October 2021. The SEC was seemingly looking for more proof of safety in this trade (read: Bitcoin Matches SPY ETF in 1H: What Lies in 2H of 2021?).More Futures-Based ETF Launches Ahead?SEC Chair Gary Gensler indicated his preference for futures tracking ETFs, created under the existing 1940 Investment Company Act, which provide considerable investor protection. Futures-based products are however not as efficient as physically-based products in general since derivatives add another layer of complexity, with the need to rollover. They also are not very good at tracking spot prices (read: Bitcoin & Blockchain ETFs: What Investors Should Know).The likelihood the ETF’s listing appeared to push up the price of bitcoin over the past week. Bitcoin hit a record level of $66K on ETF news. Several companies, including Invesco have applied to bring about similar ETFs that could follow ProShares into the market in the weeks ahead.In the absence of an ETF before, investors used to track products like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) that can trade at a significant discount or premium to their NAV. But these are only available to qualified wealthy investors or in over-the-counter markets.Any More Downsides in the Cards?Environmental concerns may be a downside risk for the fund. Per a CNBC article, questions regarding the bitcoin’s impact on the environment could be another issue for the cryptocurrency. “Bitcoin mining equipment requires lots of electricity to run, and bitcoin’s energy consumption has risen considerably over the years in tandem with its price. While bitcoin’s critics have long warned of its huge carbon footprint, Tesla CEO Elon Musk brought the issue back to the fore this year,” the article noted.ETFs in Focus If you are still unsure about investing in BITO, XBTF and BTFD and want to wait for more futures-based ETF launches, stocks that are related to bitcoin mining or trading may entice you as they play an indirect role in betting on this crypto asset.Coinbase Global Inc. COIN is a U.S. company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform without an official physical headquarter. Coinbase has exposure to funds like VanEck Vectors Digital Transformation ETF DAPP, Simplify Volt Fintech Disruption ETF (VFIN) and Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO). Blockchain ETFs like Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF BLOK should also be watched by investors interested in bitcoin.Then there is crypto innovators ETF namely Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF BITQ. The underlying Bitwise Crypto Innovators 30 Index measures the performance of companies involved in servicing the cryptocurrency markets, including crypto mining firms, crypto mining equipment suppliers, crypto financial services companies, or other financial institutions servicing primarily crypto-related clientele. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>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 report Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK): ETF Research Reports Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN): Free Stock Analysis Report VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP): ETF Research Reports Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ): ETF Research Reports ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Qualys (QLYS) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations. The market expects Qualys (QLYS) to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended September 2021. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.The earnings report, which is expected to be released on November 3, 2021, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.Zacks Consensus EstimateThis maker of security-analysis software is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.79 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +2.6%.Revenues are expected to be $103.97 million, up 11.7% from the year-ago quarter.Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseEarnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Qualys?For Qualys, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%.On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Qualys will beat the consensus EPS estimate.Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Qualys would post earnings of $0.68 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.79, delivering a surprise of +16.18%.Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times.Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.Qualys doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 report Qualys, Inc. (QLYS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here......»»

The proposal that would target billionaires is out, Richard Neal told Bloomberg, but Ron Wyden told Insider: "I'm not saying that it's dead!" House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said the proposal to tax billionaires is off the table. Senate Democrats had announced the plan to target the wealthiest of the wealthy on Wednesday. But the architect of the proposal, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, hinted it might stick around. A proposal from the Senate that would target American billionaires is now out of the Biden administration's tax plan, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal told Bloomberg News.The inclusion of a surtax on millionaires, however, is still under discussion, Neal said.The billionaires proposal was imperiled just hours after its announcement, when powerful centrist Sen. Joe Manchin said "I don't like the connotation that we're targeting different people."But the architect of the new hikes, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, pushed back against the idea that this is the end of the road. "I'm not saying that it's dead!" Wyden told Insider, noting that the White House still backs the proposal."I'm talking to senators, and nobody has said that the status quo is okay," Wyden added. "Everybody gets that this is flagrantly unfair."The plan to hit billionaires with tax hikes was revealed by Senate Democrats on Wednesday in a proposal that would tax roughly 700 of the nation's billionaires. Under the "billionaires' income tax," the most wealthy of the ultrawealthy would see the skyrocketing value of their stocks and assets taxed.Normally, assets are just taxed when they're sold - what's called a capital gain. However, the new proposal, spearheaded by Wyden, would tax "unrealized gains." That's the value that unsold stocks and assets add, and, if you're a billionaire who holds a whole lot of stocks, probably your main source of wealth."The basic problem is that for very wealthy people who get most of their income from capital gains, they can choose when to pay tax on that income, if at all," Samantha Jacoby, a senior tax legal analyst at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Insider.The tax on billionaires came after key moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pushed back on raising taxes for high earners and corporations to offset infrastructure spending. Instead of rolling back Trump-era tax cuts and hiking rates for Americans who earn over $400,000, Democrats instead turned towards taxing the 700 or so billionaires in the country. An analysis from economist Gabriel Zucman found that the tax could bring in $500 billion, $275 billion of which would come from just the top 10 richest billionaires. If the proposal came to fruition, it would be a "a major structural reform to the tax system" to tax income from wealth like income from wages, according to Frank Clemente, executive director at the left-leaning advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Whitney Tilson’s email to investors discussing Holon Global Investments’ report on Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) – on the road to a US $10 trillion company and beyond. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more A Bullish Report On Tesla Posted here is a 144-page bullish report on Tesla, which was published recently by Tim Davies […] Whitney Tilson’s email to investors discussing Holon Global Investments’ report on Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) – on the road to a US $10 trillion company and beyond. if (typeof jQuery == 'undefined') { document.write(''); } .first{clear:both;margin-left:0}.one-third{width:31.034482758621%;float:left;margin-left:3.448275862069%}.two-thirds{width:65.51724137931%;float:left}form.ebook-styles .af-element input{border:0;border-radius:0;padding:8px}form.ebook-styles .af-element{width:220px;float:left}form.ebook-styles .af-element.buttonContainer{width:115px;float:left;margin-left: 6px;}form.ebook-styles .af-element.buttonContainer input.submit{width:115px;padding:10px 6px 8px;text-transform:uppercase;border-radius:0;border:0;font-size:15px}form.ebook-styles .af-body.af-standards input.submit{width:115px}form.ebook-styles .af-element.privacyPolicy{width:100%;font-size:12px;margin:10px auto 0}form.ebook-styles .af-element.privacyPolicy p{font-size:11px;margin-bottom:0}form.ebook-styles .af-body input.text{height:40px;padding:2px 10px !important} form.ebook-styles .error, form.ebook-styles #error { color:#d00; } form.ebook-styles .formfields h1, form.ebook-styles .formfields #mg-logo, form.ebook-styles .formfields #mg-footer { display: none; } form.ebook-styles .formfields { font-size: 12px; } form.ebook-styles .formfields p { margin: 4px 0; } Get Our Activist Investing Case Study! Get the entire 10-part series on our in-depth study on activist investing in PDF. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or print it out to read anywhere! Sign up below! (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more A Bullish Report On Tesla Posted here is a 144-page bullish report on Tesla, which was published recently by Tim Davies of Australian tech-focused $100M fund Holon Global Investments. I haven’t had a chance to read it, but I asked my analyst Kevin “100-bagger” DeCamp (I think he’s approaching a 150-bagger on TSLA!) to take a look and here’s what he sent me: I’ve seen much of this data and analysis before, but it’s definitely worth at least reading the executive summary. The projections and title he chooses are clearly to attract attention (why not one-up Cathie Wood with a $3,369 current value and a $10 trillion target!), but it’s a good overview to understand what’s actually going on in the auto industry, especially the challenges that legacy automakers are facing transitioning to EVs. Of note is his emphasis on Tesla’s impressive profitability while still producing at a much smaller scale than legacy OEMs (comparing Tesla’s EVs to legacy’s ICE production numbers). This will continue to improve as Tesla grows on average around 50% and its revenue mix continues to shift more towards software. Tesla reported 28.8% gross margins in 3Q excluding regulatory credits while facing supply chain issues and producing cars well under capacity. As I’ve said before, the myth that Tesla cannot make a profit without regulatory credits will continue to die a slow death. It’s on its way to Apple-like margins with a much bigger total addressable market (TAM). I’m not convinced on his bullish developing market projections, although it’s something to consider. Updated on Oct 27, 2021, 2:41 pm (function() { var sc = document.createElement("script"); sc.type = "text/javascript"; sc.async = true;sc.src = "//mixi.media/data/js/95481.js"; sc.charset = "utf-8";var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(sc, s); }()); window._F20 = window._F20 || []; _F20.push({container: 'F20WidgetContainer', placement: '', count: 3}); _F20.push({finish: true});.....»»

Musk said the government could "run out of money" and "come for you." Yet the government has run a deficit for years without billionaires paying much. Elon Musk. Mario Tama/Getty Images Elon Musk railed against Democrats' "billionaires' tax" proposal, but it would still leave him as the world's richest person. Musk warned the government could "come for you" when it runs out of cash, but the US has spent more than it taxes for decades. The new tax would still allow Musk to keep $28 billion from his $37 billion surge in wealth this Monday as Tesla's market cap exploded. Elon Musk this week critiqued Democrats' latest plans to tax billionaires to pay for their social spending plans, saying on Twitter, "Eventually, they run out of other people's money and then they come for you."But who are the "other people" and the "you" here? For the majority of Americans, income taxes have long been a reality, making up nearly half of the money collected by the US government. America's wealthiest, on the other hand, have largely paid a lower rate of taxes by seeing their wealth accumulate in the form of asset worth, not an annual salary. Musk's argument plays on illogical fears that lawmakers will target everyday Americans next, when the reality is that after the rich have used loopholes for decades, some of those are starting to close.The wealthiest pay less in taxesThe US has used a progressive tax system since 1862.Tax brackets and top rates have changed over time as Americans earned more, but the top rates have grown ineffective from an explosion of loopholes. The plan from Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon doesn't mark a new era of strict taxation, it just forces billionaires to pay tax on their biggest source of income: soaring stocks.The world's richest man ripped into the tax proposal on Monday, saying it unfairly shifted wealth away from America's richest citizens. The issue comes down to "who is best at capital allocation - governments or entrepreneurs," Musk wrote in one of several tweets on tax policy. Yet the richest Americans have long paid a smaller share of their income than those who earn far less. Many billionaires shield their wealth by taking a relatively low salary and placing most of their net worth in assets like stocks, which are only taxed when they are sold and the profit is locked in, or "realized." But billionaires often hold stocks throughout their lives and pass them on after death, leaving the majority of their net worth completely untaxed, while using their wealth to get ultra-cheap loans from banks where they park their assets.Musk, for example, saw a $37 billion spike in his net worth on Monday when Tesla's stock price surged nearly 13%. Under the current system, he isn't required to pay taxes on any of those gains.Wyden's proposal would levy the usual 23.8% capital gains tax on the increased value of unsold assets, meaning billionaires like Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates would have to pay taxes on their massive stock profits. For Musk, the initial bill on his stock gains would amount to roughly $50 billion, according to an analysis by Gabriel Zucman, a left-leaning economist at the University of California Berkeley. Wyden's proposal would allow Musk to pay that sum over a five-year period.-Gabriel Zucman (@gabriel_zucman) October 26, 2021 That would mark a stark change from the tax rates billionaires have paid for several years. Analysis of IRS tax return data published by ProPublica in June showed some of the richest Americans - including Musk - paying nothing in income taxes for a handful of years. Musk in particular paid $455 million in taxes from 2014 to 2018, just 3.27% of his wealth, according to the report.If the tax becomes law, Musk would remain the world's richest man by a healthy margin, at a net worth of roughly $202 billion, as of Tuesday's market close. Bezos would be the second-wealthiest American with a net worth of about $149 billion.Musk's Monday stock windfall would still be worth more than most Americans make in their lives. A 23.8% tax on the jump would turn the $37 billion profit into a $28.2 billion gain.If that sum made up Musk's entire net worth, he'd still be wealthier than 99.5% of Americans.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The proposal that would target billionaires has been axed, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal told Bloomberg. Ron Wyden disagrees. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said the proposal to tax billionaires is off the table. Senate Democrats had announced the plan to target the wealthiest of the wealthy on Wednesday. But the architect of the proposal, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, hinted it might stick around. A proposal from the Senate that would target American billionaires is now out of the Biden administration's tax plan, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal told Bloomberg News.The inclusion of a surtax on millionaires, however, is still under discussion, Neal said.The plan to hit billionaires with tax hikes was revealed by Senate Democrats on Wednesday in a proposal that would tax roughly 700 of the nation's billionaires. Under the "billionaires' income tax," the most wealthy of the ultrawealthy would see the skyrocketing value of their stocks and assets taxed.Normally, assets are just taxed when they're sold - what's called a capital gain. However, the new proposal, spearheaded by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, would tax "unrealized gains." That's the value that unsold stocks and assets add, and, if you're a billionaire who holds a whole lot of stocks, probably your main source of wealth."The basic problem is that for very wealthy people who get most of their income from capital gains, they can choose when to pay tax on that income, if at all," Samantha Jacoby, a senior tax legal analyst at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Insider.The tax on billionaires came after key moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pushed back on raising taxes for high earners and corporations to offset infrastructure spending. Instead of rolling back Trump-era tax cuts and hiking rates for Americans who earn over $400,000, Democrats instead turned towards taxing the 700 or so billionaires in the country. An analysis from economist Gabriel Zucman found that the tax could bring in $500 billion, $275 billion of which would come from just the top 10 richest billionaires. If the proposal came to fruition, it would be a "a major structural reform to the tax system" to tax income from wealth like income from wages, according to Frank Clemente, executive director at the left-leaning advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness.But the proposal already seemed imperiled just hours after its announcement, when Sen. Joe Manchin - another powerful centrist - said "I don't like the connotation that we're targeting different people."However, the proposal may not be fully dead yet: The Dispatch's Haley Byrd Wilt reported that Wyden said the tax is still on the table.-Haley Byrd Wilt (@byrdinator) October 27, 2021"I'm not saying that it's dead!" Wyden told Insider, noting that the White House still backs the proposal."I'm talking to senators, and nobody has said that the status quo is okay," Wyden added. "Everybody gets that this is flagrantly unfair."This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices' earnings hint at the fact that cloud computing and video gaming are two hot investing areas. This week is packed with big-tech earnings releases. Already, Microsoft MSFT and Alphabet GOOGL smashed earnings expectations and lifted investors’ mood about the super-hot tech zones. Microsoft shares edged 2% higher in the aftermarket session on Tuesday after the software and hardware maker reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $2.27 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.06 per share. This compares favorably with earnings of $1.82 per share a year ago. Microsoft recorded revenues of $45.32 billion for the quarter ended September 2021, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares to year-ago revenues of $37.15 billion.Alphabet too came up with quarterly earnings of $27.99 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $23.13. This compares to earnings of $16.40 per share a year ago. Alphabet posted revenues of $53.62 billion for the quarter ended September 2021, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.52%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $38.01 billion.Advanced Micro Devices AMD recorded quarterly earnings of 73 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents and year-ago earnings of 41cents. Advanced Micro, which belongs to the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry, reported revenues of $4.31 billion for the quarter ended September 2021, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares to year-ago revenues of $2.8 billion.However, recent releases pointed out that two tech areas are especially showing strength. Below we highlight those.Tech Space in Focus  Gaming & eSportsAMD sales soared 54% on strong demand for chips for servers and game consoles. The video game industry continues to thrive amid COVID-induced fears and restrictions, which have boosted stay-at-home activities. For nine months, the total consumer spending on gaming is up 12% year over year to $42.28 billion. It is impressive to observe that the video gaming industry is witnessing strong sales growth despite tough year-over-year comparisons, highlighting the strength in the space.Recently-released data from The NPD Group emphasizes that the video game industry, including packaged media, digital, consoles and accessories, witnessed robust sales in September, with people spending $4.36 billion in all, reflecting 3% growth year over year. Hardware spending surged 49% in September to $412 million, led by a wider distribution of new-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony, per the same NPD Group report (read: Bet on These Video Gaming ETFs to Gain From Surging Sales).VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF ESPOGlobal X Video Games & Esports ETF HEROCloud ComputingMicrosoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment — which comprises the Azure public cloud, enterprise services, GitHub, SQL Server, System Center, Visual Studio and Windows Server — generated $16.96 billion in revenues, up 31% year over year. That also beat the $16.51 billion consensus estimate among analysts polled by StreetAccount, as quoted on CNBC.Microsoft said Azure and other cloud services grew 50% year over year in the quarter. Microsoft’s Azure public cloud revenue growth was expected to be 47%, according to a CNBC survey of 12 analysts, while analysts polled by StreetAccount are looking for 48% Azure growth. It shows that cloud computing continues to be a thriving zone.Cloud computing and storage are expected to stay in vogue in 2021. The space has received quite a push amid the coronavirus outbreak with a vast population working from home across the globe. Considering the accelerated coronavirus vaccine rollout globally, demand for cloud computing is set to stay robust even after the pandemic.It is worth knowing here that cloud computing and storage have found applications in social networking, messaging apps and streaming services. It has empowered video conferencing, gaming, e-commerce shopping, remote project collaboration, online classes, editing, etc. Cloud computing is also supporting organizations in remotely processing a lot of information, developing and running key applications and services.First Trust Cloud Computing ETF SKYYGlobal X Cloud Computing ETF CLOUWisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund WCLD  Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>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 report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report Global X Video Games & Esports ETF (HERO): ETF Research Reports Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY): ETF Research Reports VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ESPO): ETF Research Reports Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU): ETF Research Reports WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF (WCLD): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Dan Loeb’s letter to Third Point investors for the third quarter ended July 2021, discussing the top winners in Q3; Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) and SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S). Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Dear Investor: During the Third Quarter, Third Point returned +12.5% in the flagship Offshore Fund and +16.2% in the […] Dan Loeb’s letter to Third Point investors for the third quarter ended July 2021, discussing the top winners in Q3; Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) and SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S). .first{clear:both;margin-left:0}.one-third{width:31.034482758621%;float:left;margin-left:3.448275862069%}.two-thirds{width:65.51724137931%;float:left}form.ebook-styles .af-element input{border:0;border-radius:0;padding:8px}form.ebook-styles .af-element{width:220px;float:left}form.ebook-styles .af-element.buttonContainer{width:115px;float:left;margin-left: 6px;}form.ebook-styles .af-element.buttonContainer input.submit{width:115px;padding:10px 6px 8px;text-transform:uppercase;border-radius:0;border:0;font-size:15px}form.ebook-styles .af-body.af-standards input.submit{width:115px}form.ebook-styles .af-element.privacyPolicy{width:100%;font-size:12px;margin:10px auto 0}form.ebook-styles .af-element.privacyPolicy p{font-size:11px;margin-bottom:0}form.ebook-styles .af-body input.text{height:40px;padding:2px 10px !important} form.ebook-styles .error, form.ebook-styles #error { color:#d00; } form.ebook-styles .formfields h1, form.ebook-styles .formfields #mg-logo, form.ebook-styles .formfields #mg-footer { display: none; } form.ebook-styles .formfields { font-size: 12px; } form.ebook-styles .formfields p { margin: 4px 0; } Get The Full Ray Dalio Series in PDF Get the entire 10-part series on Ray Dalio in PDF. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or email to your colleagues (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Dear Investor: During the Third Quarter, Third Point returned +12.5% in the flagship Offshore Fund and +16.2% in the Ultra Fund, bringing year to date returns to +29.5% and +36.5%, respectively. Assets under management at September 30, 2021 were approximately $19.3 billion, including $863 million in the Third Point Structured Credit Opportunities Fund.1 The top five winners for the quarter were Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST), SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S), Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU), Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), and Avantor Inc (NYSE:AVTR). The top five losers for the quarter were Paysafe Ltd (NYSE:PSFE), SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI), DiDi Global Inc (NYSE:DIDI), Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER), and Burlington Stores Inc (NYSE:BURL). Our top winners on a percentage basis in Q3 were our two largest positions; Upstart, up 153%, and SentinelOne, up 26%, as public market investors rewarded both companies’ disruptive business models and high-growth trajectories. Upstart has started to upend the FICO-dependent, $84 billion unsecured personal loan market with its AI-driven underwriting approach and is ramping up its footprint in the $685 billion auto lending market. In its most recent earnings report, the company raised its full-year revenue estimates by 25%. We expect SentinelOne to grow rapidly and continue to gain market share over the next decade as flexible work patterns, cloud adoption, and IoT create more security vulnerabilities. This market is still dominated by legacy vendors whose solutions pale when compared to SentinelOne’s autonomous, machine-learning based security, which is taking share and helping the company grow annual recurring revenue by more than 100% year-over-year. 2021 has been a good year for our portfolio and markets. Risk assets have climbed a wall of worry as easy financial conditions and post-vaccine enthusiasm created a favorable market backdrop. Looking ahead to 2022, we remain constructive but increasingly cautious, as the tapering of fiscal and monetary stimulus should reduce support for asset prices. On the positive side, consumer balance sheets remain robust and inventories low, allowing for sell-in, and transitory supply shocks should resolve over the next few quarters. We expect uneven results in the near-term as companies contend with supply, labor, and logistical headwinds. The retail holiday season looks challenging, and notions of what constitutes pricing power at the micro level will show through results as we monitor the path of PPI versus CPI. We are looking for market shifts based on recent actions in China and watching how the path of interest rates and the dollar may impact financial conditions. We have increased the number of single name shorts in our portfolio and expect to take advantage of dislocations in quality and compounder equities. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Return of “Event-Driven” Investing In our Second Quarter letter, we wrote that event-driven situations looked interesting again, and our portfolio now reflects this view. Four positions are worth highlighting: Vivendi Third Point made an investment in Q1 in shares of Vivendi SE (OTCMKTS:VIVHY), the European media conglomerate. We were attracted by the industry-leading position of its crown jewel asset, Universal Music Group, and the announced separation of that asset as a standalone entity. Our upside calculation was underpinned by a sum-of-the parts analysis and an understanding of the company’s disparate assets. Third Point’s involvement was rumored in the press but in deference to our engagement with the company during a delicate time this Spring, we chose to keep our conversations about tax structure and corporate governance surrounding the spin private. We were pleased that Vivendi’s controlling shareholder, Vincent Bolloré, chose to take meaningful steps forward on governance for the new UMG entity, including commitments for an independent board and the equal treatment of shareholders. We believe these steps eased investor concerns about UMG’s corporate governance that may otherwise have created an overhang in the stock, contributing to UMG’s successful listing in late September. Dell Michael Dell has created substantial value for shareholders since re-listing the company several years ago. Earlier this year, Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) announced that it would be spinning its $50 billion stake in VMWare, which we believe will unlock the underappreciated value of the Dell server and PC businesses. Dell’s best attribute has been strong free cash flow generation, which the company has used to de-lever and create significant latent value for equity holders. Looking ahead, we believe this core Dell business, which still trades at a discount to its hardware peer group, should instead command a premium multiple thanks to its leading market share, profitability, and impressive execution. There are few large cap companies which possess a nearly 10% FCF yield, 2.5% dividend yield and 1.5x leverage ratio; Dell is one of them. Entain MGM’s failed approach to acquire Entain PLC (LON:ENT) in January gave us the opportunity to study this iGaming leader ahead of the July expiry of the U.K.’s six month “cooling off” window. We gained an appreciation for the valuable BetMGM JV stake as well as Entain’s vertically integrated tech stack. The shares appeared to offer attractive value without pricing in the prospect for a bid; in short, we thought there was cheap optionality. Entain’s shares rose after DraftKings approached the company in September and remain above pre-offer levels, despite the recent withdrawal of interest, validating the company’s standalone value. It is uncommon to see one company receive two unique bids in the same calendar year, and we think this bodes favorably for Entain’s business and strategic value. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Prudential PLC During the quarter, Prudential successfully completed its previously announced spin-off of Jackson National and raised additional equity in Asia for the remaining Pru-Asia business. We are pleased to see the value gap begin to close but see considerable additional appreciation potential as Asian-domiciled and other global investors begin to fully appreciate its significant discount to its peers, excellent franchise, and growth potential. New Position: Royal Dutch Shell Third Point initiated a position in Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) (“Shell”) during the second and third quarters. The past two years have been especially challenging for Shell shareholders due to a major dividend cut and well-publicized court case that ordered changes to Shell’s business model. Stepping back further, it has been a difficult two decades for shareholders, with annualized stock returns of just 3% and decreasing returns on invested capital. However, despite the current sour sentiment, we see opportunity for improvement across the board at Shell. Shell is one of the cheapest large cap stocks in the world, trading at under 4x next year’s EBITDA and ~8x earnings at “strip” prices. It also trades at a ~35% discount on most metrics to peers ExxonMobil and Chevron despite Shell’s higher quality and more sustainable business mix. Compared to its peers, Shell generates a much larger percentage of its cash flow and earnings from stable businesses that have a major role to play in the energy transition. For example, Shell is the largest global player in liquified natural gas (“LNG”), which is a critical transition fuel to move off carbon intensive coal-fired power generation. In 2022, we expect the company’s energy transition businesses (LNG, Renewables and Marketing) to generate EBITDA of over $25 billion with sustaining capex of only $5 billion. These businesses account for just over 40% of Shell’s EBITDA but would likely support Shell’s entire enterprise value if they were a standalone company. At the current share price, we believe investors are getting the remaining ~60% of EBITDA (upstream, refining and chemicals) for free. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Management has been gradually divesting assets that are not aligned with a low-carbon future such as upstream and refining. This is perhaps most evident in Shell’s refining business where the company went from owning 54 refineries in 2004 to only five (by year-end.) This is a remarkable accomplishment. Shell’s massive dividend cut and other asset sales (e.g. Permian) have left it with an under-levered balance sheet with year-end 2021 net debt to EBITDA of well below 1x. This positions Shell to return capital earlier and more aggressively than peers. Given all these positive attributes, why can’t Shell attract investor interest? In our view, Shell has too many competing stakeholders pushing it in too many different directions, resulting in an incoherent, conflicting set of strategies attempting to appease multiple interests but satisfying none. Some shareholders want Shell to invest aggressively in renewable energy. Other shareholders want it to prioritize return of capital and enjoy the exposure to legacy oil and gas. Some investors think Shell should shrink to grow, while we suspect some within Shell seem sentimentally attached to its “super major” legacy. Some governments want Shell to decarbonize as rapidly as possible. Other governments want it to continue to invest in oil and gas to keep energy prices affordable for consumers. Europe paradoxically wants both! Shell’s board and management have responded to this with incrementalism and attempts to “do it all.” As the saying goes, you can’t be all things to all people. In trying to do so, Shell has ended up with unhappy shareholders who have been starved of returns and an unhappy society that wants to see Shell do more to decarbonize. Shell’s board can and must move faster. We believe all stakeholders would benefit from a plan to: Optimize Shell’s corporate structure to reduce cost of capital and allow it to more aggressively invest in decarbonization; Match its business units with unique shareholder constituencies who may be interested in different things (return of capital vs. growth; legacy energy vs. energy transition); Allow each of its business units to more nimbly and effectively react to market and environmental policy developments. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more This should involve the creation of multiple standalone companies. For example, a standalone legacy energy business (upstream, refining and chemicals) could slow capex beyond what it has already promised, sell assets, and prioritize return of cash to shareholders (which can be reallocated by the market into low-carbon areas of the economy). A standalone LNG/Renewables/Marketing business could combine modest cash returns with aggressive investment in renewables and other carbon reduction technologies (and this business would benefit from a much lower cost of capital). Pursuing a bold strategy like this would likely lead to an acceleration of CO2 reduction as well as significantly increased returns for shareholders, a win for all stakeholders. Many ESG investors employ a strategy of buying companies that already have a clean bill of health. A lesson from our prior engagements is that it is often most impactful to invest in companies where the opportunity for positive change is the greatest. While daunting, there is perhaps no bigger ESG opportunity than in “Big Oil”, and specifically, at Royal Dutch Shell. We are early in our engagement with the company but are confident that Shell’s board and management can formulate a plan to accelerate decarbonization while simultaneously improving returns for its long-suffering shareholders. UnitedHealth UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) is one of the largest healthcare companies in the world and a market leader in both its insurance and healthcare services (Optum) businesses. We initiated our position during the 2020 Presidential election at a time of heightened political and regulatory uncertainty. We believe under its new CEO, Andrew Witty, UnitedHealth can not only preserve its market dominance and sustain industry-leading growth rates across most of its key segments but also enter new healthcare services markets. Witty is known as a mission-driven CEO who clearly articulates his view that providing high-quality, affordable health care services is a social good. He receives consistently high marks from former colleagues, and we believe that his leadership approach will ballast and even strengthen UNH’s already impressive management and employee ranks. The insurance and services businesses are synergistic and complementary, which entrenches United’s critical role in care financing, access, and management. This dynamic gives us confidence in the durability of United’s market leadership. United’s core capabilities across insurance underwriting, cost and clinical datasets, provider care management, and PBM assets – undergirded by an advanced IT infrastructure – bolster their competitive advantage in providing the most robust insurance benefits at the lowest cost. United is also an early adopter of the technology across a variety of care settings such as telemedicine, digital therapeutics, and continuous glucose monitoring technology for their diabetic type 2 population. This provides better tools and care to patients and gives United better visibility on patient health, which leads to better cost control via early intervention. Driven by UNH’s higher-growth businesses like Medicare Advantage (MA) and value-based care MA clinics, as well as strong visibility on growth acceleration post-Covid, we expect the company’s multiple to rise significantly as investors see a path to sustained mid-teens earnings growth. We believe the stock can double in the next three to four years as we see durability of EPS in the mid-teens supported by a high single digit FCF yield while trading in-line with the market. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Private Investment: Rivian We first took notice of Rivian after its spectacular launch at the L.A. Auto Show in 2018 when it announced two beautifully designed electric off-road vehicles: the R1T truck and the R1S SUV. Rivian is the brainchild of RJ Scaringe, an engineer with a master’s and a doctorate from MIT. We had the opportunity to meet RJ in early 2020 and were deeply impressed by his charismatic vision and approach to designing a new type of automotive company. A car enthusiast with a passion to conserve the environment for future generations, RJ has built a company that is shifting consumer mindsets about what battery electric vehicles can be. The R1T, which officially launched in September 2021, has received rave reviews, with Motor Trend calling it the “future of the pickup truck.” The clean sheet, technology-focused vehicle eliminated long-accepted compromises and delivers an experience that harnesses humanity’s innate adventurous spirit in an environmentally friendly way. Recognizing that personal ownership of vehicles will give way to ride-sharing in the future, Rivian also has the ambition to be major solutions provider to centrally managed fleets. They prudently initiated a relationship with Amazon to develop a range of commercial delivery vans that leverages the same core electric skateboard platform as the R1S/R1T. Amazon has an initial 100,000 vehicle order with Rivian (the largest backlog/order for any electric vehicle company ever at the time) and is also a major investor in Rivian. As Amazon seeks to become a dominant player in logistics while being carbon neutral, we believe that Rivian will be their end-to-end fleet provider of choice. When we learned that Rivian was doing a fund-raising round in late 2020, we expressed our interest and secured a small investment. More importantly, we spent time with RJ and his team. When Rivian did a pre-IPO convert round in July 2021, we were able to participate in a more meaningful way. Rivian recently filed its S-1 and is on track to go public by year-end. Rivian stands out with a compelling brand, an excellent first vehicle, and a unique partnership with Amazon that allows them to scale quickly. They are taking full advantage of the direct-to-consumer model/digital ecosystem to attack the full lifetime revenue potential from vehicles rather than simply an upfront sale. After recently spending a full day with RJ and his team in Normal, Illinois and driving the R1T, we are confident that they are best in class in every way: vision, strategy, talent, execution, partnerships and amount/quality of capital raised so far. The R1T knocked it out of the park, and we are excited to invest with Rivian to support its mission to keep the world adventurous forever. Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Business Updates We recently welcomed three new investment professionals to the team. Their biographies are below: Robert Hou joined our team as Head of Insurance Solutions to develop investment strategies and manage portfolios for our insurance clients. Prior to joining Third Point, Mr. Hou was a portfolio manager at Blackstone in the Insurance Solutions business. His background includes FIG Investment Banking and Corporate Development at BlackRock, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Hou graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics. Daniel Lee joined our Structured Credit group. Prior to joining Third Point, Mr. Lee was in-house counsel at Nomura Securities International, Inc. covering securitized products. Mr. Lee spent five years as a structured finance associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and four years as an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. Mr. Lee graduated with a J.D. from Washington & Lee School of Law and holds a B.A. from Binghamton University. Luana Majdalani joined our equity team as an analyst. Prior to joining Third Point, she worked at Blackstone in private equity. She started her career at Evercore Partners in its merger & acquisitions advisory group. Ms. Majdalani graduated with a Master in Financial Mathematics from Princeton University and holds a BSc in Economics from the University College London (UCL). Q3 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Sincerely, Daniel S. Loeb Updated on Oct 27, 2021, 1:32 pm (function() { var sc = document.createElement("script"); sc.type = "text/javascript"; sc.async = true;sc.src = "//mixi.media/data/js/95481.js"; sc.charset = "utf-8";var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(sc, s); }()); window._F20 = window._F20 || []; _F20.push({container: 'F20WidgetContainer', placement: '', count: 3}); _F20.push({finish: true});.....»»

From Nike to Google to Bank of America, Insider's top diversity execs of 2021 have led transformative equity progress under immense pressure. From Nike to Google to Twitter, here are Insider's top diversity trailblazers of 2021. American Express; JP Morgan; Facebook; Nike; Alyssa Powell/Insider The echoes of Black Live Matter protesters may have died down since the summer of 2020, but America's CEOs know the pressure to advance racial equity still hovers over them since the murder of George Floyd.Chief diversity officers were hired at record rates to shoulder the brunt of demands placed on companies shortly after Floyd's death. Indeed found that listings for diversity roles jumped 56% between September 2019 and September 2020. LinkedIn data confirmed that the summer of 2020 saw a spike in the hiring of these roles. The year 2021 was the first test to see whether companies would make real progress. These chief diversity officers - often people of color - have enacted incredible change since then. And the work they do is complicated and exhausting. They are the shepherds of what could be a new era in corporate America. Insider is proud to present its second annual list of diversity officers changing the country. Collectively, these executives are helping break barriers for hundreds of thousands of workers while also challenging their CEOs to make their policies and business practices more inclusive. Rosanna Durruthy, vice president of global diversity, inclusion and belonging at LinkedIn Linkedin's Rosanna Durruthy. Courtesy of Rosanna Durruthy Key accomplishments: A result of Durruthy's diligence, LinkedIn announced in July that it would pay the global cochairs of its employee resource groups $10,000 per year for their work, in addition to their salary. "Historically, ERG leaders take on leadership roles and the associated work in addition to their day jobs, putting in extra time, energy, and insight. And despite the tremendous value, visibility and impact to the organization, this work is rarely rewarded financially," Durruthy said. "The work of ERGs is more important than ever." This past year, LinkedIn also created the option for users to share their preferred pronouns, a big move to make the jobs platform more inclusive, especially for transgender and nonbinary professionals. LinkedIn aims to double the number of Black and Hispanic leaders and managers on its US team over the next five years. Durruthy is also focused on increasing leadership training that focuses on inclusion and diversity. In their own words: "As a leader and an LGBTQ woman of color, it's been really important for me to be in conversation with my peers and to allow them to know that I see them as being responsible for helping create the change we're all endeavoring toward."  Brian Lamb, global head of diversity and inclusion at JPMorgan JPMorgan's Brian Lamb. JPMorgan Chase Key accomplishments: This year, Lamb, Jamie Dimon, and a group of other executives deployed funds from the firm's record-making 2020 $30 billion pledge to address racial injustice. The investment aims to boost the number of Black and Hispanic homeowners, create more affordable housing, and support small businesses through loans.  In September, JPMorgan committed an additional $100 million to Black and Hispanic-led minority depository institutions and community-development financial institutions. A month later, JPMorgan announced to Insider it was pressuring the businesses it works with to increase spending with Black- and Hispanic-led companies. Business professors and economists predicted the bank's efforts would have a ripple effect in the economy, boosting capital spent on minority-owned businesses.  In their own words: "Patience isn't a virtue for me. I'm inspired to live with purpose and positively impact the lives of others — to be bold in our thinking and hold myself and others accountable to both their personal and professional responsibility to drive sustainable change."  Melonie Parker, chief diversity officer at Google Google's Melonie Parker. Google Key accomplishments: With efforts overseen by Parker, Google added diversity, equity, and inclusion materials to orientation for all new hires along with training for managers on how to promote inclusion of employees who are neurodiverse, or people with different ways of brain processing, such as people with ADHD or autism. Google also made significant strides in hiring diverse candidates. It increased Black representation in its US workforce by nearly 20%, from 3.7% to 4.4% and increased Hispanic hiring by a third, from 6.6% to 8.8%, according to the company. Parker also interviewed former first lady Michelle Obama at Google's first Women of Color Summit aimed at promoting mentorship, sponsorship, and career development for women of color at the company.  In their own words: "I believe we need to further expand the horizon of what we do to support employees of color. To me, that means clearer pathways to leadership, mentorship opportunities, more safe spaces both on campus and virtually, and also more DEI exercise for white employees, because it is truly everybody's responsibility to create a welcoming and gainful environment for underrepresented employees." Lesley Slaton Brown, chief diversity officer at HP HP's Lesley Slaton Brown. HP Key accomplishments: Over the past year, Lesley Slaton Brown helped the tech giant increase the number of Black executives at the vice president level and up by 50% and the number of female executives by 32%. Additionally, over 60% of new US hires were from underrepresented groups, including women, people with disabilities, people from underrepresented races and ethnicities, and military veterans.In their own words: "My mantra, is 'Everyone in!' Everybody, especially leaders, must understand the business value of DEI. It's integral to drive meaningful change in the short term and long term." Tim Dismond, chief responsibility officer at the commercial real-estate firm CBRE CBRE's Tim Dismond. CBRE Key accomplishments: As a result of Dismond's efforts, over 50% of the company's promotions and nearly half of new hires in the past year were women, people of color, LGBTQ people, or people with disabilities.He also led an effort to increase spending with suppliers owned by people of color, women, or other historically marginalized group. Across 2020 and 2021, the company is projected to spend more than $1 billion with diverse suppliers. In their own words: "As a Black man, I'm not immune to the undertones of bias in professional settings, and while my experience is not unique, by sharing and showing vulnerability I can effect change and help others feel safe to share their experiences and perspectives."   Dalana Brand, VP of people experience and head of inclusion and diversity at Twitter Twitter's Dalana Brand. Twitter Key accomplishments: Brand has pushed Twitter to further diversify its leadership over the past year. Representation of women in leadership roles increased from 35.4% to 37.7% and Black representation in leadership positions increased from 5.6% to 7.3%.  Brand was also influential in Twitter announcing that employees have the option to work from home indefinitely. The move has helped attract and retain talent for whom working from home is best, such as working parents or people with disabilities.In their own words: "It's not enough for us to simply have diverse teams. We cannot check the box and keep on with our own careers because what we know is that diverse folks will remain excluded from opportunity unless we are intentional about inclusion."  Sonia Cargan, American Express' chief colleague inclusion and diversity officer American Express' Sonia Cargan. American Express Key accomplishments: This year, Cargan made pay equity a top priority. AmEx investigated salaries across gender, race, and ethnicity and made changes to correct any discrepancies, achieving 100% pay equity for colleagues across gender globally and across race and ethnicity in the US. Cargan said the company is working to achieve pay equity across race and ethnicity globally.Cargan was also instrumental in AmEx creating a new office of enterprise inclusion, diversity, and business engagement that works directly with the company's executive committee to weave DEI practices into business strategies. In their own words: "We understood that to drive real change, we needed to further intensify our focus and make inclusion and diversity the heart of not only our workplace but how we do business."  Tara Ataya, chief people and diversity officer at Hootsuite Hootsuite's Tara Ataya. Hootsuite Key accomplishments: After a powerful conversation with other Hootsuite leaders last year about how to better support employees, Ataya guided the company's redesign of its benefits package to make it more inclusive. The company now covers gender-affirmation surgeries, fertility treatment, and financial-counseling services under its health and employee-assistance plans, benefits that are highly coveted and not often offered. Hootsuite also expanded its mental-health counseling services to include more therapists of color. The company also conducted a third-party pay equity report and achieved pay equity. In their own words: "It's about time we see this level of change. Greatness comes from being challenged to be better and do better. I think it is so important that organizations understand the importance of and the business case for DEI in the workplace." Maxine Williams, chief diversity officer at Facebook Facebook's Maxine Williams. Courtesy of Maxine Williams Key accomplishments: Because of Williams' leadership, Facebook has seen a significant increase in women in technical roles (from 15% in 2014 to 24.1% in 2020), as well as Black people in nontechnical roles (from 2% in 2014 to 8.9% in 2020). In 2020, Williams helped Facebook achieve a 38.2% increase in Black leaders, according to the company's latest DEI report. In addition, Williams built a diversity advisory council, a group of 18 employees from diverse backgrounds across the globe who meet quarterly to consult on the company's content policies, products, and human-resources programs.In their own words: "Build DEI into business processes and products from day one. Don't wait for the right time. That time was yesterday." Jarvis Sam, Nike's vice president and head of global diversity, equity, and inclusion Nike's Jarvis Sam. Nike Key accomplishments: Sam drove Nike's plan to increase representation of historically marginalized communities at the leadership level. Over the past year, he helped the company increase representation of women and people of color and at the director level and above by 2 percentage points. Women now make up 43% of directors and above, and people of color make up 27%. Sam also created new coaching programs for vice presidents across all departments to gain new skills, including skills around DEI. Some 56% of the 2020 participants were promoted to new roles within the year.  In their own words: "We have to lift as we climb. If we're not bringing others along with us, we aren't doing our job right." Toni Thompson, VP of people and strategy at Etsy Etsy's Toni Thompson. Etsy Key accomplishments: Over the past year and a half, the company has doubled down on its efforts to hire and promote more people of color thanks to pressure from Thompson. Black, Latino, and Native American hires made up 20% of new hires in 2020, and Black, Latino, and Native American people now comprise 12.2% of Etsy's total workforce, according to the company's most recent diversity report. In addition, employees from these underrepresented communities now comprise 8.7% of Etsy's leadership. The company is on track to reach its goal of doubling the percentage of Black, Latino, and Native American employees by 2023.Thompson helped Etsy expand its mentorship opportunities for women and people of color in engineering. She also launched a third-party pay-equity analysis, which found no discrepancies in pay based on race, ethnicity, or gender, consistent with their first report conducted in 2018. In their own words: "It's very natural for companies to be laser-focused on the financials and goal achievement that influence the financial health of the company. There are many HR and DEI efforts that support the top and bottom line, but it's hard for people to make those connections. I'm thankful the executive team at Etsy gets it, but many leaders at other companies don't."  Kara Helander, managing director and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group's Kara Helander. The Carlyle Group Key accomplishments: In early 2020, Helander led the charge at the private-equity firm to set a new goal of having 30% of board directors at all of its portfolio companies hail from historically underrepresented groups within two years of ownership. The head of DEI also developed and implemented a new set of criteria for assessing employees up for promotion to managing director, with individuals taking part in an assessment that evaluated their skills in inclusive leadership and management.  In addition, she implemented a change that DEI will be integrated into compensation as part of managers' formal year-end assessments going forward. Helander wants to continue diversifying the financial firm. In 2020, 63% of people hired in the US were women or ethnic minorities, according to the company. In their own words: "Each and every person in an organization can contribute to advancing diversity and inclusion. Accountability is key to sustaining positive change."  Lorie Valle-Yanez, head of diversity, equity, and inclusion at MassMutual MassMutual's Lorie Valle-Yanez. MassMutual Key accomplishments: Valle-Yanez shepherded MassMutual's investments in racial justice to the tune of more than $200 million, with $150 million going to diversifying the businesses the company works with and $50 million to spur job creation among diverse entrepreneurs in Massachusetts.The financial company also released its first public DEI report, which includes a detailed breakdown of its leadership and workforce demographics. In their own words: "The biggest change since George Floyd has been the increased engagement and ownership coming from so many people in the company who are raising their hands and wanting to be part of the change."  Antoine Andrews, chief diversity and social-impact officer at Momentive (formerly SurveyMonkey) Momentive's Antoine Andrews. Momentive Key accomplishments: Andrews was a key figure in Momentive's recent decision to financially recognize employees who lead the company's ERGs, though the company declined to disclose by how much. Working with CEO Zander Lurie, Andrews also shaped Momentive's initiative calling on its suppliers and vendors to increase diversity in their leadership. In their own words: "Stamina is the characteristic most needed to combat inequity, racism, and all other negative 'isms.' Those of us who do this work can easily get tired, frustrated, and discouraged when progress isn't made or is happening slowly. Change requires us to be in shape mentally and physically."  KeyAnna Schmiedl, global head of culture and inclusion at Wayfair Wayfair's KeyAnna Schmiedl. Lyndsay Hannah Key accomplishments: Schmiedl helped Wayfair conduct a third-party pay-equity survey and worked to achieve pay equity for all 16,000 employees across race, disability status, and gender and sexual identity. In addition, Schmiedl led the charge to tie executive compensation to DEI goals.She also helped diversify Wayfair's leadership. The company increased the share of women in leadership positions by 7 percentage points in six months from 25% at the end of the 2020 fourth quarter to 32.8% at the end of June. The company also hired its first two directors of Indigenous descent. In their own words: "I am more consistent in being authentically me from meeting to meeting, interaction to interaction, and I've experienced more folks in the workplace bringing more of their humanity to everyday interactions. I'm having more raw conversations."  Cynthia Bowman, chief diversity and inclusion and talent acquisition officer at Bank of America Bank of America's Cynthia Bowman. Bank of America Key accomplishments: Bowman played a key role in producing Bank of America's $1 billion, four-year commitment made in June 2020 to address underlying economic and social disparities that were exacerbated during the pandemic. In March, Bowman, CEO Brian Moynihan, and other executives expanded this commitment to $1.25 billion over five years to further support investments to advance racial justice through grants to historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and civil-rights organizations. Bowman has helped the financial giant deepen connections with HBCUs and HSIs over the past year and a half. Because of these efforts, the bank's 2021 entry-level class is at least 50% people from historically marginalized backgrounds.  In their own words: "There is no question that achieving strong operating results on equity — the right way — starts with our teammates. Our diversity makes us stronger, and the value we deliver as a company is strengthened when we bring broad perspectives together to meet the needs of our diverse stakeholders."  Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Democrats are targeting 700 or so billionaires and economist Gabriel Zucman has calculated what the US - and the world's - richest would pay. Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos (left) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Axel Springer Democrats want to raise taxes on billionaires to offset infrastructure spending, a new twist on their tax plans. An analysis from economist Gabriel Zucman finds that the proposal could bring in $500 billion. Elon Musk alone would owe up to $50 billion, while Jeff Bezos could pay up to $44 billion. Democrats are inching toward a big new tax on billionaires. The latest proposal is a "billionaires' income tax" that would capture the untaxed massive stock gains that the richest of the rich have made in the last several years.According to a new analysis, targeting billionaires alone would generate $500 billion - with $275 billion coming from the 10 richest billionaires alone.Economist Gabriel Zucman, a longtime researcher on inequality and taxes on the wealthy, used SEC data and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index to estimate different billionaires' stock holdings and extrapolate what they'd pay under Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden's new billionaire tax released on Wednesday.Zucman's analysis finds that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest person, would see the largest bill of America's 700 or so billionaires, owing up to $50 billion. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos -the richest in the world after Musk - would owe up to $44 billion. Here's what everyone's total bills could look like:!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r.....»»

Microsoft (MSFT) continued a long track of beating earnings estimates and topped the revenue estimate driven by the demand for its software and cloud computing services for remote work and study. After the closing bell on Tuesday, the world's largest software maker — Microsoft MSFT —delighted investors with better-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2022 results. It continued a long track of beating earnings estimates and topped the revenue estimate driven by the demand for its software and cloud computing services for remote work and study (see: all the Technology ETFs here).Earnings per share came in at $2.71, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.06 and improving 25% from the year-ago quarter. Investors should note that Microsoft has not missed on quarterly earnings since the third quarter of fiscal 2016. Revenues grew 22% year over year to $45.3 billion, topping the consensus estimate of $43.87 billion. This marks the fastest pace of revenue growth since 2018.Growing demand for cloud computing services and software tools that support at-home workers led to the robust performance. Microsoft Cloud generated $20.7 billion in revenues for the first time in the quarter, up 36% year over year, suggesting a good start to fiscal 2022. Growth of the flagship Azure computing platform rose 50% in the fiscal first quarter, just shy of 51% growth in the fiscal fourth quarter. Sales of Office 365 Commercial and Dynamic 365 climbed 23% and 48%, respectively. Microsoft’s gaming revenues jumped 16% year over year.The robust earnings results pushed shares of Microsoft higher as much as 2% in after-market hours. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and Growth Score of B.ETFs to BuyInvestors seeking to invest in this software leader could tap ETFs with a lower level of risk. While several ETF options are available, we have highlighted six with double-digit exposure to Microsoft that could be compelling choices.Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF XLKThis most-popular technology ETF follows the Technology Select Sector Index and has $46.7 billion in AUM. The fund charges 12 bps in fees per year from investors and trades in a heavy volume of around 9.7 million shares a day, on average. It holds about 75 securities in its basket, with Microsoft occupying the second position at 21.5%. XLK has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a Medium risk outlook (read: 4 ETF Areas for Investors to Make the Most of Q4).iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF IYWThis ETF tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Technology Capped Index, giving investors exposure to 151 U.S. electronics, computer software and hardware, and informational technology companies. Of these, Microsoft occupies the second position in the basket with 16.3% of the assets. The fund has AUM of $9 billion and charges 41 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is good as it exchanges nearly 507,000 shares a day. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.Vanguard Information Technology ETF VGTThis fund manages about $52.5 billion in its asset base and provides exposure to 342 technology stocks. It currently tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index. Here, MSFT occupies the second position with a 16.8% share. The ETF has 0.10% in expense ratio, while volume is solid at nearly 598,000 shares. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a Medium risk outlook.MSCI Information Technology Index ETF FTECThis fund is home to 350 technology stocks with AUM of $6.6 billion. It follows the MSCI USA IMI Information Technology Index. MSFT is the second firm with a 16.8% allocation. The ETF has 0.08% in expense ratio, while volume is solid at 237,000 shares a day. It carries a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a Medium risk outlook.iShares Global Tech ETF IXNThis product provides exposure to electronics, computer software and hardware, and informational technology companies by tracking the S&P Global 1200 Information Technology Sector Index. Holding 130 stocks in its basket, Microsoft occupies the second spot with 17.1% share. The ETF has amassed $5.6 billion in its asset base and trades in a good volume of 350,000 shares a day on average. The expense ratio is 0.43%.iShares Evolved U.S. Technology ETF IETCThis is an active ETF, having accumulated $149.6 million in its asset base. It employs data science techniques to provide exposure to 240 technology stocks. Microsoft is the top firm with a 15% allocation. IETC trades in a light volume of 14,000 shares and charges 18 bps in annual fees (read: 5 Tech ETFs Outperforming the Market This Year). Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>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 report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK): ETF Research Reports Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW): ETF Research Reports Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT): ETF Research Reports iShares Global Tech ETF (IXN): ETF Research Reports iShares Evolved U.S. Technology ETF (IETC): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research.....»»

The healthcare sector is expected to witness substantial earnings growth of 17.5% in the third quarter. The healthcare sector got some boost from the approval of new COVID-19 vaccine boosters in the last quarter. The ultra-popular ETFs, Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV, Vanguard Health Care ETF VHT, iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF IYH and Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF FHLC, have gained around 1% over the past three months.Better-than-expected earnings from UnitedHealth Group UNH and mixed results from Johnson & Johnson JNJ also provided some support. UnitedHealth breezed past the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both earnings and revenues and lifted the full-year earnings outlook. Meanwhile, the world's biggest healthcare products’ maker continued its long streak of earnings beat but lagged the revenue estimates. The company lifted its full-year guidance (read: JNJ Posts Mixed Q3 Bag, Ups View: ETFs in Focus).Eli Lilly LLY missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate but outpaced on the revenue front. It also raised its earnings outlook for the full year.Further price movement of these funds depend on earnings releases from some big names like Pfizer PFE, Merck MRK, Amgen AMGN, AbbVie ABBV and Gilead Sciences GILD that dominate returns. These firms are lined up to report their earnings in the next two weeks. All these stocks collectively account for 16.8% share in XLV, 15.7% in IYH, 14% in VHT and 14% in FHLC.Let’s dig deeper into the earnings picture of these companies, which will drive the performance of the above-mentioned funds in the coming days:According to our methodology, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Inside Our Surprise Prediction for These StocksPfizer has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +2.25%. The stock witnessed negative earnings estimate revision of four cents for the to-be-reported quarter over the past 30 days. It delivered an earnings surprise of 5.55%, on average, in the past four quarters and has a VGM Score of A. Pfizer is scheduled to report earnings on Nov 2, before the opening bell.Merck is expected to report results on Oct 28 before market open. It has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +2.64%. The stock witnessed no earnings estimate revision over the past 30 days for the to-be-reported quarter. Additionally, the stock delivered an average beat of 0.57% in the last four quarters. Merck has a Value Score of B (read: Buy 5 High-Beta ETFs That Still Offer Value).Amgen carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of -0.31%. It witnessed negative earnings estimate revision of a penny over the past 30 days for the quarter to be reported. The earnings surprise track over the past four quarters is strong, with the beat being 7.12%, on average. The stock has a Value Score of A. Amgen will report earnings on Nov 2.AbbVie has a Zacks Rank #4 and an Earnings ESP of -0.26%. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of 17 cents over the past seven days for the to-be-reported quarter and delivered an earnings surprise of 0.55%, on average, in the last four quarters. The stock has a VGM Score of B. The company is scheduled to report on Oct 29 before the opening bell.    Gilead is expected to release earnings on Oct 28 after market close. It has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +0.75%. The stock saw positive earnings estimate revision of seven cents over the 30 days for the to-be-reported quarter. Gilead’s earnings surprise was 6.10%, on average, over the last four quarters. Gilead has a VGM Score of A (see: all the Healthcare ETFs here).Summing UpThe healthcare sector is expected to witness substantial earnings growth of 17.5% in the third quarter. In particular, FHLC has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 while the remaining three have a Zacks ETF Rank #1. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>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 report UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report AbbVie Inc. (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH): ETF Research Reports Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT): ETF Research Reports Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF (FHLC): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Continued strength in BD's (BDX) Life Sciences and Interventional segments is expected to have driven up Q4 sales. Becton Dickinson and Company BDX, popularly known as BD, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results on Nov 4, before market opens.In the last-reported quarter, the company’s earnings of $2.74 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.4%. Over the trailing four quarters, its earnings outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on all occasions, delivering an earnings surprise of 18.20%, on average.Let’s see how things have shaped up for BD prior to this announcement.Factors to NoteBD Life SciencesDuring its fiscal third-quarter earnings call in early August, BD had confirmed that it would start shipping its BD MAX and BD Veritor combination flu COVID assays the same month, in time for the respiratory season. The company had also confirmed that it was registering strong performances from its Biosciences business over the past few months and was expecting the momentum to have continued in the to-be-reported quarter as well, thereby contributing to the revenues.In June, the company launched its new e-commerce site, bdbiosciences.com, which is an entirely new and innovative digital marketplace designed to provide a best-in-class online purchasing experience for its flow cytometry customers. Given the early positive feedback, the e-commerce site is likely to continue to witness excellent traction and early adoption.Becton, Dickinson and Company Price and EPS Surprise Becton, Dickinson and Company price-eps-surprise | Becton, Dickinson and Company QuoteBD has launched a slew of products over the past few months, which includes the launch of its FACSymphony A5 SE (the first BD spectral analyzer and provides a higher cellular parameter analysis) and FACSymphony A1 Cell Analyzer (which offers high-end technology and a cost-effective bench top design). This apart, BD boasts of a robust pipeline of modular, scalable new instruments and next-generation dyes that will allow its customers to fully leverage its complete and integrated solution suite. All these factors are likely to have considerably driven the company’s fiscal 2021 fourth-quarter results.BD, similar to the past few months, is likely to have continued to gain from its COVID-19 diagnostic testing business, given the latest surge in new infections. The company launched the BD COR System, a new and fully-automated high-throughput diagnostic system utilizing robotics and sample management software algorithms (in August). These developments are likely to have boosted this segment’s revenues in the to-be-reported quarter.The company, in May, announced that the industry's first self-collection claim for human papillomavirus (“HPV”) screening has been CE marked. The new claim enables laboratories and facilities to process self-collected samples via a BD diluent tube using the BD Onclarity HPV Assay on either the BD Viper LT or the BD COR System.BD InterventionalBD’s Interventional business is likely to have been boosted by the availability of its PeritX Peritoneal Catheter System, which received the FDA’s 510(k) clearance in June, and BD Surgiphor Sterile Wound Irrigation System (available since May). Strong adoption of these products is expected to contribute significantly to the company’s revenues in the to-be-reported quarter.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal fourth-quarter BD Interventional revenues is pegged at $1.09 billion, suggesting an improvement of 11.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.Other Factors to NoteBD, in April, received the FDA’s clearance for the Pristine Long-Term Hemodialysis Catheter, a new hemodialysis catheter with a unique side-hole-free symmetric Y-Tip distal lumen design. The Pristine Catheter was to be available in the United States from May 2021. This is expected to drive investors’ optimism on the stock.The company is likely to have witnessed higher revenues at its BD Medical segment in the to-be-reported quarter. This upside is expected to have been driven by a strong recovery in the United States, led by strong growth in catheters and vascular care devices.However, BD anticipates that the to-be-reported quarter’s results might be impacted by the COVID-19 delta variant on elective surgeries in some U.S. states.The Estimate PictureFor fourth-quarter fiscal 2021, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.90 billion for total revenues implies an improvement of 2.3% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.The consensus estimate for earnings per share is pegged at $2.42, indicating a decline of 13.3% from the prior-year period’s reported number.What Our Model SuggestsOur proven model predicts an earnings beat for BD this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.Earnings ESP: BD has an Earnings ESP of +2.02%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.Other Stocks Worth a LookHere are a few other medical stocks worth considering as these also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.Insulet Corporation PODD has an Earnings ESP of +15.79% and a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Henry Schein, Inc. HSIC has an Earnings ESP of +1.06% and a Zacks Rank of 2, at present.West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. WST has an Earnings ESP of +1.93% and is a Zacks #2 Ranked stock. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 report Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX): Free Stock Analysis Report Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC): Free Stock Analysis Report West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST): Free Stock Analysis Report Insulet Corporation (PODD): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here......»»