UnitedHealth Group is reportedly increasing its use of artificial intelligence across its business.The company has 1,000 AI applications in production, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (May 5). It uses the technology in its insurance, health delivery and pharmacy divisions.UnitedHealth’s AI transcribes conversations from clinician visits, summarizes data, processes claims and controls customer-facing chatbots. In addition, roughly 20,000 of the company’s engineers use AI to write software, according ...

MercadoLibre (MELI -1.48%) stock jumped 20% in April, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Latin American e-commerce giant is already a top growth stock, and it's looking even finer since the tariff program roiled the markets because it operates outside of the U.S.Tops in two growth industriesMercadoLibre is an e-commerce giant in 18 Latin American countries. It has been growing at high double-digits since slowing down from triple-digit growth early in the pandemic, but its regi ...

Why did Intel stock take another dive in April?Shares of semiconductor veteran Intel (INTC -1.43%) swooned 11.5% lower in April 2025, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. There wasn't a single catalyst behind this price drop, but a certain theme developed in this four-week period. Intel's big plan didn't wow Wall StreetCEO Lip-Bu Tan took the stage at the Vision 2025 conference after market close on March 31 to deliver a keynote, and it turned out to be a detailed turnaround plan. He promi ...

Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX -15.70%) didn't have a fine start to the working week on Monday, at least as far as its stock was concerned. Investors traded out of it following the clinical-stage biotech's first-quarter earnings release and business update, and the share price was down by 15% in mid-session trading. The S&P 500 index was doing comparatively better, with a 0.3% decline. Light revenue and a deepening net lossFor the quarter, Recursion -- which although a clinical-stage company earns some coi ...

Core Insights - The earnings reports from the Magnificent 7, including Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Tesla, were broadly positive, with Microsoft standing out as a leader in cloud growth and performance [1][4][18] Group 1: Microsoft Performance - Microsoft reported a 33% year-over-year growth in Azure revenue, the fastest among major cloud providers, with AI services contributing 12 percentage points to this growth [4] - The Intelligent Cloud segment generated $26.8 billion in revenue, up 21% from the previous year, with operating income reaching $11.1 billion [4] - Microsoft holds the highest Zacks Rank of the Magnificent 7 group at 2 (Buy) and has been the best-performing stock over the last month, three months, and year-to-date [2] Group 2: Competitive Landscape - Amazon Web Services (AWS) reported $29.3 billion in revenue, growing at 17%, the slowest pace in five quarters, raising concerns about its growth momentum [5] - Google Cloud's revenue increased by 28% year-over-year to $12.3 billion, with operating income improving significantly from $900 million to $2.2 billion [6] - Microsoft's leadership in enterprise cloud and AI infrastructure positions it favorably for long-term value creation [6][7] Group 3: Tariff Risks - Microsoft has lower tariff exposure compared to Apple, Meta, and Amazon, making it less vulnerable to US-China trade tensions [8] - Apple is particularly sensitive to rising import costs due to its reliance on Chinese manufacturing, which could impact its revenue from Chinese consumers [9] - Amazon's global retail supply chain is heavily dependent on low-cost manufacturing in China, which could affect its margins due to tariffs [10] Group 4: Valuation Insights - Microsoft currently has the highest earnings multiple among the Magnificent 7, but this premium is justified given its strong fundamentals and growth prospects [13][15] - Other companies in the group are trading below their five-year averages, which may appeal to valuation-conscious investors [14] - Microsoft is expected to grow its earnings by 14.6% annually over the next three to five years, indicating robust growth potential [14] Group 5: Investment Considerations - Microsoft is viewed as a compelling core holding for long-term investors due to its strong cloud growth, earnings momentum, and low exposure to macro risks [16][18] - The stock's premium valuation reflects growing investor confidence in its leadership in AI and enterprise business [18]

Core Insights - FanDuel Sports Network has seen its paid subscribers double to nearly 650,000 in just eight weeks, with expectations to reach one million by year-end [2] - The company emerged from bankruptcy protection, significantly reducing its debt and restructuring its agreements with teams and leagues [3] Subscriber Growth - The streaming platform averages 250,000 unique daily users and about one million unique monthly users since the start of the 2025 MLB season, with average watch time per game increasing by 9% year-over-year to 92.5 minutes [4] - Partnerships with Amazon Prime Video and SB Nation, along with promotional offers from team partners, have contributed to subscriber growth [5][6][7] Industry Context - Regional sports networks are facing challenges due to the decline in pay-TV subscribers, necessitating adaptation to new streaming models [8][9] - The traditional lucrative model for regional sports networks is under pressure as pay-TV distributors push back on contracts [9] Pricing Strategy - FanDuel Sports Network's subscription starts at $19.99 per month, with pricing varying by region, and the company is exploring lower price points to attract more subscribers [11][12]

Group 1 - SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI) has seen a 2% increase in stock price, reaching $12.96, and has only finished lower once since April 22, following positive fiscal second-quarter results [1] - The stock has become one of the most popular among options traders, with over 2.9 million calls and 1.2 million puts traded in the last 10 days, indicating a bullish sentiment [2] - The stock's 10-day total options volume stands at 4.17 million, ranking it among the top options traded stocks [3] Group 2 - Short interest in SoFi has increased to 13.8% of the stock's available float, suggesting a growing bearish sentiment despite the stock's strong performance [5] - The stock has faced resistance at the $14 level, and year-to-date, it is down 15.6% [5]

Core Viewpoint - CNO Financial Group, Inc. reported mixed first-quarter 2025 results, with increased insurance policy income driven by higher collected premiums, but offset by lower investment results and fee revenues [1][2]. Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for Q1 2025 were 79 cents, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate, and reflecting a year-over-year increase of 51.9% [2]. - Operating revenues decreased by 12.6% year over year to $1 billion, although it exceeded the consensus estimate by 5.2% [2]. - Total insurance policy income rose to $650.7 million from $628.4 million in the prior year, but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $651.4 million [3]. Investment Income and Expenses - Net investment income dropped to $311.5 million from $469.2 million year over year [4]. - Total benefits and expenses decreased by 2.4% year over year to $986.4 million, attributed to lower insurance policy benefits and operating costs [6]. Premiums and Collected Income - Total collected premiums increased by 5.5% year over year to $1.1 billion, with annuity premiums at $442 million (up 12%), health premiums at $405.7 million (up 0.2%), and life premiums at $244.4 million (up 3%) [5]. - New annualized premiums for health products rose by 8.8%, while life products saw a decline of 5.3% [6]. Financial Position - As of March 31, 2025, unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $928.2 million, down from $1.7 billion at the end of 2024 [7]. - Total assets decreased to $37.4 billion from $37.9 billion at the end of 2024, while total shareholders' equity improved by 1.3% to $2.5 billion [7]. - Book value per common share increased by 3% to $25.33, and operating return on equity improved by 340 basis points year over year to 11.9% [8]. Shareholder Returns - CNO Financial returned $99.9 million to shareholders through share buybacks and $16.9 million in dividends during the first quarter [9]. - The company has a remaining repurchase capacity of $640.4 million as of March 31, 2025 [9]. Guidance - CNO Financial reaffirmed its 2025 guidance, projecting operating EPS in the range of $3.70-$3.90 and excess cash flow between $200-$250 million [10]. - The company estimates an expense ratio of 19-19.4% and an effective tax rate around 23% for 2025 [10].

Group 1 - The Supreme Court of British Columbia has approved the full separation of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s Studio and STARZ businesses into two independent, publicly-traded companies, effective May 6, 2025 [1] - Lionsgate is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LION on May 7, 2025 [1] Group 2 - Lionsgate Studios (Nasdaq: LION) is recognized as one of the world's leading standalone, pure play, publicly-traded content companies, encompassing diversified motion picture and television production and distribution businesses [2] - The company boasts a portfolio of valuable brands and franchises, a talent management and production powerhouse, and a library of over 20,000 titles in film and television [2] Group 3 - Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) owns approximately 87% of the outstanding shares of Lionsgate Studios Corp. (Nasdaq: LION) and the premium subscription platform STARZ [3]

Core Viewpoint - ON Semiconductor Corporation (onsemi) reported Q1 earnings indicating ongoing operational challenges and a GAAP loss for the first time in a significant period [1] Financial Performance - The company experienced a GAAP loss in Q1, marking a notable shift in its financial performance [1] - The earnings report reflects a continuation of operational difficulties faced by the company [1]