RT Jeff Lutz 🔋 (@thejefflutz)Have to ask @MKBHD was it an oversight in your review to use screenshots of US Tesla pricing when directly comparing to Xiaomi China production and China landed pricing? @Tesla makes & sells cars in China too, could have used their 15-20% lower prices as a comp… 😑 https://t.co/k30JQL1V8N ...

Heating Oil Market Overview - Heating oil season officially starts with furnace activation, weather significantly impacts energy expenses [1] - Cold snaps or major storms cause demand spikes, driving up wholesale energy prices [1] Pricing Factors - Crude oil constitutes approximately 41% of heating oil cost, refining 24%, distribution and marketing 19%, and taxes 16% [2] - New York USD futures benchmark averaged 2.2876% per gallon in October, serving as a key indicator [2] Future Outlook - December and January futures show lower prices, suggesting potential relief [3] - US EIA forecasts heating oil users are projected to pay less for the upcoming season [3] - Market conditions like cold snaps, crude oil price movements, or supply disruptions can quickly shift the forecast [3]

GLP-1 Drugs & Market Dynamics - GLP-1 drugs are considered potential "miracle drugs" with numerous applications, but their high cost is a significant concern [1] - The market is actively discussing and evaluating GLP-1s, with much more data expected to be released [2] Medicare & Affordability - There are ongoing considerations regarding making GLP-1s available for weight loss under Medicare, weighing the upfront costs against potential long-term health benefits [1] - Affordability remains a key question: "Can we afford it or can we afford not to do it?" [1] Drug Price Negotiation & IRA - One GLP-1 drug is slated for price negotiation in 2027 under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) [3] - The IRA aims to allow the government to negotiate drug prices for drugs that have been patented long enough for companies to recoup their investment [4] Government Initiatives & Pricing - The administration aims to ensure that 95% of all drugs in America will be at pricing that reflects fair value by the end of the president's term [7] - The team is deeply involved in understanding drug pricing mechanisms to ensure prices align with the value provided [6]

Preliminary discussions on the bond deal are underway, including on terms such as tenor and pricing https://t.co/ZAO9VVP4t3 ...

Model Performance & Capabilities - GBD5 excels in coding and agent development, demonstrating competitive pricing [1][3][8][11] - The model sets a new Pareto frontier for intelligence versus price, outperforming Gemini in this aspect [1][2][4][22] - While not a dramatic leap from GBD4, GBD5 is a strong daily driver, particularly for building agents and coding [3][8][11] - GBD5 shows state-of-the-art tool calling capabilities, especially for long-running agents [9][11] - Testing indicates a performance increase in deep research tasks when using GBD5 as a researcher agent, achieving 49.4% performance on deep research bench [18] Pricing & Availability - GBD5 is priced competitively, even lower than GPT-4 and GPT-4.01 at $1.25 per million input tokens [3][4] - Through the API, different models are available (main, mini, thinking, pro), while the Chat GBT app uses a router to automatically select the model [5] Limitations & Considerations - GBD5 is considered weaker at writing compared to GPT-40, GPT-41, and GPT-45, being more practical but less conversational [1][7][13][15] - Initial confusion existed in the open SDK regarding model names, but this is expected to be resolved [5][6]

Airline Industry Trends - Airlines are implementing a "fairly blunt but effective method" to differentiate pricing between business and leisure travelers [1] - The strategy is described as airlines' "newest pricing wheeze" [1]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Group revenues increased by 3.1% to $3,360,000,000 with organic growth of 1.6% [2][8] - Group adjusted profit before tax (PBT) was $418,000,000, and the operating margin was 15.2%, down 120 basis points year-on-year [2][9] - Cash flow conversion was strong at 93%, exceeding the guidance of 80% [9][19] - Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio stood at 2.8 times, slightly up from the year-end [9][21] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - North America revenue increased by 2% to $2,106,000,000, with organic growth of 1.1% [10][12] - International revenue rose by 5.1% to $1,251,000,000, with organic growth of 2.7% [13][14] - Pest Control organic growth was strong at 3.8%, while Hygiene and Well-being grew at 1.1% [14][15] - Adjusted operating profit for North America decreased by 7.3% to $356,000,000, reflecting cost inflation and lower volumes [10][11] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - North America accounted for 63% of group revenues, with pest control making up 81% of that segment [31][32] - The international region represented 37% of group revenues, with strong performance in Europe and Asia [30][31] - The pest control market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 6.2% over the next ten years, reaching approximately $50,000,000,000 by 2034 [28][29] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on improving customer retention, pricing, and new customer contracts to drive contract portfolio growth [27][36] - Plans to optimize satellite branches and increase their number to around 150 by year-end [5][43] - The divestment of the French workwear operations is expected to enhance cash generation and focus on core pest control and hygiene sectors [17][22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the long-term growth of the pest control market, driven by factors such as urbanization and increased hygiene standards [28][29] - The company is optimistic about improving lead flow and sales performance in the second half of the year, following positive trends in June [25][72] - Management acknowledged the challenges in contract revenue growth but emphasized ongoing efforts to enhance customer retention and pricing strategies [36][37] Other Important Information - The company acquired eight businesses with combined revenues of approximately $18,000,000 in the year prior to purchase [11][16] - The sale of the French workwear business is expected to complete by late Q3 or early Q4, with net cash proceeds of approximately €370,000,000 [17][18] - The predictive churn model is being developed to identify at-risk customers and improve retention efforts [73][74] Q&A Session Summary Question: Discussion on termite provision claims and future changes - Management indicated that the increase in termite provision is based on recent experiences, with costs for settling claims up by 9% [54][55] - Future provisions may vary based on the cost per claim, which remains volatile [55] Question: Insights on quarterly growth rates and lead flow - Management noted improvements in lead flow in June but did not provide specific insights on July performance [56] Question: Clarification on digital and organic lead generation - Management confirmed a shift in marketing spend from paid to organic channels, resulting in improved lead performance [60][61] Question: One-off jobs growth slowdown - Management acknowledged variability in one-off job revenues and emphasized the focus on improving contract sales [64] Question: Confidence in brand investments and funding - Management expressed confidence in reallocating marketing spend to support brand investments without needing additional funding [82][88] Question: Clarification on cost savings and integration timelines - Management clarified that while the path to $100,000,000 in cost savings remains, not all branches may be fully integrated by 2026 [91][92]