Know What's Happening in Finance
Know What's Happening in Finance
Flex to Acquire Electrical Power Products for $1.1B, Expanding Power Infrastructure Portfolio
Flex Ltd. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Electrical Power Products for approximately $1.1 billion in cash. The target contributes roughly $323 million of annual revenue and delivers a mid‑to‑high‑teens EBITDA margin. Flex expects the transaction to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first full fiscal year after closing.
Also developing:
SleepyCat posted a 44% jump in FY25 operating revenue, reaching roughly Rs 98 crore, while its losses widened to Rs 9 crore. The direct‑to‑consumer mattress maker saw material costs rise 52% and advertising spend climb 46%, pushing total expenses up 44% year‑on‑year. Finished‑goods sales accounted for 89% of revenue, growing 39%, and traded‑goods sales nearly doubled. Despite scaling, the company’s cash balance remained modest at Rs 3 crore.
Major news to track on February 25, 2026: • US State of the Union: Trade Impact • Petros vs Petronas: Court Decision • Public Bank: FY2025 Results • Telekom Malaysia: Earnings Briefing • Inta Bina: Forecast Revision • Teamstar: ACE Market Debut Details here 🧵👇🏼
Sustainable debt issuance slipped 12% year‑on‑year to about $1.4 trillion in 2025, marking the slowest growth in five years, even as clean‑energy investment hit a record $2.3 trillion. Research from ING expects a modest rebound to roughly $1.62 trillion in 2026, with Europe...
U.S. tariff rates surged to an average of 13% in 2025, yet headline inflation fell to 2.7% year‑over‑year before rebounding in December. Companies initially absorbed tariff costs, but recent PCE data shows they are now passing them onto consumers, pushing...
Artificial intelligence is moving from experimental pilots to a core, existential priority in enterprise resource planning, with Aptean positioning its AppCentral platform as the foundation for industry‑specific AI integration. The platform embeds AI agents, natural‑language queries and intelligent workflows directly...
National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) submitted Rule Filing SR‑NSCC‑2026‑003 to the SEC on February 25, 2026, proposing amendments to the shared stress‑testing framework of DTCC, its Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) subsidiary, and NSCC. The changes aim to broaden scenario coverage, tighten...
On February 25, 2026, The Depository Trust Company (DTC) submitted rule filing SR‑DTC‑2026‑002 to the SEC, proposing amendments to the Clearing Agency Stress Testing Framework shared by DTC, the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, and the National Securities Clearing Corporation. The...
On February 25, 2026, Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) filed rule filing SR‑FICC‑2026‑004 with the SEC to amend the Clearing Agency Stress Testing Framework governing DTCC’s DTC, FICC, and NSCC. The proposed changes aim to modernize stress‑testing methodologies, improve risk...
Tesla announced it will cease Model S and X production to convert the Fremont space into an Optimus robot factory, signaling a strategic shift toward physical artificial intelligence. Physical AI, defined as intelligence embedded in machines that operate in the...
Yicai: "Chinese yuan deposits saw strong year-on-year growth in January, but the pattern of slower household deposit growth alongside faster non-bank deposit growth persisted. Industry insiders said this does not mean that money is leaving the banking system, nor does...
HSBC reported a 7.4% year‑on‑year drop in 2025 profit before tax to US$29.907 billion, landing near the top of its forecast range. Basic earnings per share were US$1.21 and the bank declared a fourth interim dividend of US$0.45, bringing the total...
CME Group reported a record 36,328,151 open interest contracts in U.S. Treasury futures and options on February 19, surpassing its previous high from November 2025. The milestone spans the entire yield curve, with new peaks in 2‑year, 5‑year, 10‑year, and...
Congress has stripped more than $40 billion of IRS funding authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, threatening the agency’s capacity to combat cross‑border financial crime. IRS Criminal Investigation referrals fell to a 40‑year low in FY2024, and its special‑agent force has...
On February 6, 2026, CFIUS issued a request for information (RFI) to refine its Known Investor Program (KIP), a fast‑track review mechanism for repeat foreign investors in U.S. advanced‑technology sectors. The RFI outlines eligibility thresholds—at least three covered filings in...
A Deloitte survey of 649 tax, finance and legal professionals shows generative AI adoption in the Gulf Cooperation Council has accelerated, with non‑adoption dropping from 52% in 2024 to 29% in 2025. Quality improvement is the top priority (38%), followed...
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to present a 2026 budget bolstered by higher-than‑expected tax receipts, driven by a commodity price surge and improved collection efficiency. Despite the fiscal headroom, his GDP outlook remains bleak, projecting growth under 2%—far short...
RWS Global partnered with Box to embed AI‑driven tools into its contract lifecycle, leveraging Box Enterprise Advanced, Box Doc Gen, and Box Sign. The new no‑code workflow automates document generation, legal approval, and e‑signature, cutting processing time from roughly 20 minutes to...
Sponsor‑backed merger and acquisition activity surged to $165 billion in December 2025, marking the second‑largest monthly volume in the past decade, just shy of the $168 billion peak recorded in April 2021. Data from Mergermarket shows that leveraged buyouts and other sponsor‑driven deals now...
Covenant Review released its latest quarterly snapshot of new‑issue institutional loans that include a pick‑your‑poison covenant provision. The accompanying chart tracks the share of such loans by quarter, showing a clear upward trajectory over the past two years. The data...
The 2026 outlook for Americas private credit is dominated by the mass maturity of loans originated in 2021, pushing the asset class into the mainstream. Refinancing activity surged in 2025, with a 29% jump in deals that now represent 28%...
KBRA released its latest TTM Direct Lending Default Index on February 23, 2026, showing a year‑to‑date default rate of 2.8%, up from 2.4% in the prior quarter. The index recorded 150 cumulative defaults across the direct‑lending universe, while the weighted average spread...
Paramount has sweetened its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, raising the cash offer to $31 per share and adding several protective clauses. The revised terms include an accelerated quarterly ticking fee, a $7 billion regulatory termination fee, and a commitment to...
Accent Group’s net profit after tax plunged 40.5% in the first half of FY2024 despite a 5.7% revenue rise to $810.5 million. Like‑for‑like retail sales grew modestly 0.9% while wholesale jumped 9.4%, but higher operating costs and lease negotiations eroded earnings....
Coronado Global Resources announced the completion of its Mammoth Underground expansion and Buchanan growth project after a challenging 2025 marked by a steep revenue decline and significant net losses. The company aims to leverage the new assets to boost ore...
What happened to the stock market? The market rally has come to a HALT. Earnings and innovation are not the problem, liquidity is.
I've been a financial consultant to millionaires in Singapore and across Southeast Asia for nearly a decade. Here's what I've learned: the most painful financial conversations happen after someone passes away. The ones that could have been prevented by a single...
Wall Street’s recent AI anxiety sparked a sharp selloff in software stocks, pushing many private tech firms to postpone IPOs as investors anticipate a handful of mega‑offerings to dominate the market. A viral Citrini Research report amplified fears, warning that...
Very interesting slide from @River: U.S. investment advisors have ~0.008% in Bitcoin on average. Some of the biggest names in finance suggest Bitcoin allocations of up to ~5%. Investment advisors are underallocated to Bitcoin. If advisors move even modestly toward those ranges, the...
MiMedx Group reported record Q4 2025 results, posting $118 million in net sales—a 27% year‑over‑year increase—and adjusted EBITDA of $29 million, representing 25% of revenue. The company highlighted a strong profit profile with an adjusted gross margin of 86% and GAAP net...
PowerFleet reported Q3 2026 revenue up 7% YoY (9% on an apples‑to‑apples basis) and adjusted EBITDA rising 20% to $25.7 million, with margins expanding to 23%. Service revenue grew 11% and now represents 80% of total revenue, underscoring the shift to...
Churchill Downs reported 2019 net revenue of $1.3 billion and a record adjusted EBITDA of $451 million, up 32% and 37% year‑over‑year respectively. The company returned $115 million to shareholders and has now delivered over $1 billion in cumulative returns across five years while...
McGrath RentCorp posted Q4 2025 net income of $34.8 million, or $2.79 per share, and full‑year earnings of $134 million, $10.41 per share. Loan growth accelerated to more than 12% quarter‑over‑quarter while deposits rose 7.4% in the quarter, indicating strong demand. At...
LivaNova reported Q4 2025 revenue of $361 million, a 9.5% constant‑currency increase, and delivered adjusted EPS of $0.86, marking its fifth straight year of double‑digit earnings growth. The cardiopulmonary segment grew 10% year‑over‑year, propelled by ESSENCE heart‑lung machine placements, while epilepsy...
Seadrill reported Q4 2025 revenue of $176 million and adjusted EBITDA of $109 million, while posting a $4.7 million net loss due to a $23 million charter settlement. The company booked an $11.3 million gain on the sale of a Suezmax tanker, delivering about $26 million...
Steven Madden reported mixed Q3 2025 results, with consolidated revenue rising 6.9% to $667.9 million thanks largely to the Kurt Geiger acquisition, while core wholesale revenue fell 10.7% amid steep China‑U.S. tariffs. Direct‑to‑consumer sales exploded 76.6% year‑over‑year, offsetting margin pressure as gross margin...
Hamilton Beach Brands reported Q4 2025 revenue of $212.9 million, essentially flat year‑over‑year, while gross margin surged to 28.3%, up 220 basis points YoY and more than 700 basis points sequentially. Operating profit rose 8% to $25.4 million, driven by strong commercial growth (over 15% annual...
Newmark Group reported a 25.9% revenue jump to $863.5 million in Q3 2025, with double‑digit growth across all major lines. Capital markets revenue surged 59.7% as debt volumes rose 129% and investment‑sale activity jumped 67%. The company completed the RealFoundations acquisition, launched...
Chatham Lodging Trust reported mixed Q3 results and outlined a Q4 outlook marked by modest RevPAR declines and steady earnings. The REIT sold five low‑performing hotels at roughly a 6% cap rate, repurchased about 500,000 shares at $6.85, and expanded...
Barrett Business Services reported an 8.6% increase in gross billings to $2.32 billion for Q4 2025, driven by strong PEO growth and a record addition of 10,400 worksite employees, up 6.1% year‑over‑year. Net income per diluted share rose 7% to $0.79,...
GoodRx reported full‑year 2024 revenue of $792.3 million, a 6% year‑over‑year increase, with Q4 revenue of $198.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 20% to $260.2 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 32.8%, up 420 basis points. Prescription‑transaction revenue grew 5% driven by...
Urban Outfitters reported a record third‑quarter revenue of $1.5 billion, up 12% year‑over‑year, and net income of $116 million, a 13% increase. All five brands posted positive comparable sales, with the Urban brand delivering a 13% global comp and Anthropologie achieving its...
United Fire Group reported a record‑setting 2025 year, delivering $67 million underwriting profit, a 9% rise in net written premium to $1.3 billion, and a combined ratio of 94.8%. Investment income jumped 20% to $98 million, pushing return on equity to 13.7%, the...
Angel Oak Mortgage REIT reported a second consecutive year of double‑digit net interest income growth, with NII rising 11% YoY to $41.1 million and GAAP net income jumping 53% to $44 million. Operating expenses fell 15.5% year over year, while loan purchases...
Hayward Holdings reported a 7% rise in Q3 net sales to $244 million, driven by price gains and modest volume growth, and lifted its full‑year outlook to 4‑5.5% sales growth and a 5‑7% increase in adjusted EBITDA. Gross margin expanded to...
SM Energy announced that its merger will create a top‑10 U.S. independent oil producer with roughly 526,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 1.5 billion BOE of pro forma proved reserves. The combined entity will hold over 800,000 net acres,...
A new firm‑level study of Swiss‑UK capital linkages finds that the Brexit referendum’s surge in policy uncertainty sharply reduced short‑term debt flows from Swiss‑resident firms to the United Kingdom, while equity investments remained stable. The contraction is driven almost entirely...
Pennant Group reported Q2 2025 revenue of $219.5 million, up 30.1% year‑over‑year, and adjusted EBITDA of $16.4 million, up 24.5%. All three operating segments—home health & hospice, senior living, and other services—showed double‑digit growth, with home health/hospice revenue reaching $166 million and senior...
Kinder Morgan posted record Q4 2025 results, with net income of $996 million and EPS of $0.45, up roughly 50% year‑over‑year. Adjusted EBITDA reached an all‑time high, growing 6% and surpassing the 4% budget target. The company expanded its project backlog...
S&P Global reported a strong fourth‑quarter 2025, with revenue up 9% year‑over‑year and organic constant‑currency growth of 8%. Adjusted operating margin expanded 60 basis points to 47.3% and adjusted diluted EPS rose 14%, hitting the top end of its guidance....
Clear Secure Inc. posted record Q4 2025 results, with revenue of $240.8 million, a 16.7% year‑over‑year increase, and total bookings up 25.4% to $287.1 million, driven largely by ClearOne enterprise wins. Adjusted EBITDA reached $79.9 million, delivering a 33.2% margin, while free cash...
