SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) voice controls are finding users in drive-through windows, phone menu systems, and in-car infotainment systems. A billion-dollar backlog of long-term contracts has started to generate revenues, management expects break-even EBITDA profits in 2025, and the total addressable market for voice-driven human-to-computer communication is enormous. Starting from a $3.13 billion market cap and a share price of $7.46, it seems reasonable to expect roughly 15% of compound annual growth r ...

In my January 9, 2026, Barchart report on the soft commodities sector, I concluded with the following: Commodity cyclicality also suggests that prices rise to levels where production increases, inventories build, demand decreases, and prices turn lower. In 2025, the soft commodity sector, excluding world sugar and cotton, experienced cyclical effects. Time will tell if cotton and sugar prices can recover in 2026, but cyclicality favors the upside.  The continuous ICE cotton futures contract fell 6.04% in ...

This is where the issue of minimum viable scale becomes a problem for domestic energy producers. Renewables are cannibalizing energy production, and as in our toll road example, there may no longer be adequate revenues to support two parallel fossil fuel infrastructures for electricity production. Coal-fired power generation requires extensive mining operations and rail connections, while gas-fired plants require drilling, processing, and pipelines. In a weakening pricing environment with shrinking demand, ...

Management said unit volumes declined in the quarter, which Nahmad framed as expected given a strong comparison in the prior year’s fourth quarter, when unit growth exceeded 20%.In the fourth quarter, Nahmad said Watsco achieved “double-digit pricing gains” on new A2L products and increased gross margin by 40 basis points to 27.1%. He reiterated the company’s longer-term gross margin objective of reaching 30% and said Watsco has ongoing initiatives intended to support that trajectory.Watsco also announced a ...

He also noted improving conditions in lighting and transportation, growth expectations for coatings, and “normalized” telecom carrier capital spending. In telecom, Valmont acquired the remaining 40% of ConcealFab in the fourth quarter, which management said adds control of differentiated technology and an innovative product pipeline supporting 5G, broadband expansion, and next-generation wireless deployment.Applbaum said Valmont entered 2026 with $1.5 billion in backlog , up 22% year over year and “largely ...

In aggregates, shipments totaled approximately 227 million tons , an increase of 3% for the full year, driven by prior-year acquisitions. Same-store aggregate shipments were “slightly lower” than the prior year. Aggregates mix-adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter, while aggregates cash gross profit per ton improved 7% for the year, according to management.The company also generated over $1.8 billion of operating cash flow , which management said was up 29% year over year ...

Chief Operating Officer Chris Wauson said the company has started planning to optimize route management, inventory, contracts, and operational structures in order to begin realizing synergies as early as 2026. He added that USA Compression’s new ERP system is scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2026 for legacy assets, with J-W assets expected to be integrated during 2026. Wauson said the company expects “modest one-time costs” tied to the transaction in 2026, with “substantial synergy capture” targ ...

Gates said SunCoke extended its Granite City coke-making contract with U.S. Steel through December 2026 at similar economics to the 2025 extension, and extended its Haverhill Two contract with Cleveland-Cliffs through December 2028 with key provisions similar to the prior contract. She also pointed to a new take-or-pay coal handling agreement at KRT that began in the second quarter of 2025, which the company expects to benefit from for a full year in 2026. SunCoke returned about $41 million to shareholders ...

Pope said the acquisition is forecast to be accretive in the first year and supports long-term EPS and dividend growth expectations of 5% to 7%. She added that PGE expects to be “squarely above the midpoint” of that long-term range, citing factors including financing plans, cost management and integration opportunities.The company said it is partnering with Manulife Investment Management and its affiliate John Hancock, which will hold a 49% minority stake in the Washington business, with PGE owning 51% and ...

Grischow said SUNC “will be an attractive option to invest in Sunoco,” particularly for investors outside the U.S., institutional investors, and retirement accounts. Management expects minimal corporate income taxes at SUNC for at least five years, which it said should allow SUNC’s distribution to remain “very similar” to Sunoco LP’s distribution during that period.Grischow emphasized that SUNC’s only asset is its limited partner interest in Sunoco LP and that SUNC consolidates Sunoco LP into its financial ...