Euronext publishes Q4 and full year 2025 results In 2025, Euronext delivered another year of double-digit growth, driven by the expansion of non-volume-related businesses, resilient trading, clearing revenues and cost discipline. Euronext will accelerate the execution of its strategic plan in 2026. Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris – 18 February 2026 – Euronext, the leading European capital market infrastructure, today publishes its results for the fourth quarter and full ye ...

Group 1 - The Value Lab focuses on long-only value investment strategies, aiming to identify mispriced international equities with a target portfolio yield of approximately 4% [1][2] - The Valkyrie Trading Society, a team of analysts, shares high conviction investment ideas that are downside limited and expected to yield non-correlated and outsized returns in the current economic environment [2] - The Value Lab provides members with real-time portfolio updates, 24/7 chat support, regular global market news reports, feedback on stock ideas, monthly new trades, quarterly earnings write-ups, and daily macro opinions [2]

Core Viewpoint - Main Street Capital Inc. (NYSE:MAIN) is currently experiencing a stock price of $59.88, reflecting a 0.74% increase, but has seen a decline of 5.85% over the past month and 4.31% over the past year, raising questions about its valuation despite current performance [1]. Group 1: P/E Ratio Analysis - The P/E ratio serves as a tool for long-term shareholders to evaluate the company's market performance relative to market data, historical earnings, and industry standards [2]. - Main Street Capital Inc. has a P/E ratio of 10.08, which is significantly lower than the Capital Markets industry's aggregate P/E ratio of 51.52, suggesting that shareholders may perceive the stock as underperforming compared to its peers or potentially undervalued [3]. - While a lower P/E ratio can indicate undervaluation, it may also reflect a lack of expected future growth, highlighting the need for a comprehensive analysis that includes other financial metrics and qualitative factors [4].

Core Viewpoint - The People's Bank of China, along with other regulatory bodies, has issued guidelines to establish a normalized financial support mechanism aimed at preventing poverty and promoting rural revitalization, in line with the directives from the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China [1][2]. Group 1: Financial Support Mechanism - The guidelines emphasize the need to develop a long-term financial support mechanism for key populations, optimize microcredit for impoverished individuals, and provide ongoing support to prevent poverty [1][2]. - Financial institutions are encouraged to create loans for specialized industries and increase the upper limit for entrepreneurial guarantee loans in eligible regions [2]. Group 2: Investment in Key Areas - There is a strong focus on enhancing financial resource allocation in critical sectors, particularly in grain and oil production, to improve agricultural productivity and quality [2]. - The guidelines call for increased long-term funding for rural infrastructure and support for the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism [2]. Group 3: Financial Services and Innovation - The guidelines advocate for the development of supply chain financial services, such as accounts receivable financing, to meet the financial needs of the entire agricultural industry chain [2]. - Financial technology initiatives will be implemented to empower rural revitalization, including the promotion of mobile payment systems and the establishment of credit rating systems for rural entities [2]. Group 4: Collaborative Financial Strategies - The guidelines stress the importance of multi-faceted financial collaboration, encouraging local financial institutions in underdeveloped areas to issue special bonds for small and micro enterprises and agriculture [2]. - A comprehensive capital market support system will be constructed, continuing the "green channel" policy for company listings [2]. Group 5: Monitoring and Evaluation - The People's Bank of China will enhance collaboration with regulatory bodies to summarize effective practices in financial support and monitor the implementation of policies aimed at rural revitalization [3].

Core Viewpoint - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. stock is currently priced at $942.81, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.09% in the current market session, but has seen an increase of 0.58% over the past month and a significant rise of 45.79% over the past year, raising questions about its valuation despite current performance issues [1] Group 1: Stock Performance - The stock price of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is $942.81, with a decrease of 0.09% in the current session [1] - Over the past month, the stock has increased by 0.58% [1] - In the past year, the stock has appreciated by 45.79% [1] Group 2: P/E Ratio Analysis - The P/E ratio is a critical metric for investors, comparing the current share price to the company's earnings per share (EPS) [2] - A higher P/E ratio may indicate that investors expect better future performance, potentially suggesting overvaluation, but it could also reflect optimism about future dividends [2] - Goldman Sachs Group has a lower P/E ratio compared to the Capital Markets industry's aggregate P/E of 94.75, which may imply that the stock is undervalued or could perform worse than its peers [3]

Core Viewpoint - The recent local two sessions emphasize the role of local capital markets in nurturing and serving new productive forces, shifting focus from merely expanding the number of listings to supporting high-quality tech innovation companies [1][2]. Group 1: Direct Financing and Market Support - There is a new emphasis on increasing the proportion of direct financing, with a strong focus on supporting high-quality tech innovation companies to go public [1][2]. - Various provinces have initiated specific actions to enhance the listing of quality companies, such as Jiangxi's enterprise listing upgrade project and Zhejiang's "Phoenix Action" plan [1][2]. - The consensus among local governments has shifted towards prioritizing quality over quantity in listings, as seen in reports from Hebei and Liaoning provinces [1]. Group 2: Diverse Listing Channels - The roadmap for listings has become more diversified, with overseas listings emerging as a significant channel [2]. - Local governments are promoting the entry of tech innovation companies into both domestic and international multi-tiered capital markets [2]. - Policies are increasingly focused on supporting technology and quality, with a trend towards refined and directed overall policies to facilitate the listing of high-quality tech companies [2]. Group 3: Innovative Financing Tools - Local governments are emphasizing the use of diverse financing tools to expand investment and financing space, aiming to boost social financing scale and support the real economy [3][4]. - The bond market is highlighted as a crucial support for broadening corporate financing channels, with initiatives like the implementation of science and technology bonds and asset-backed securities (ABS) [3]. - Public REITs are being utilized more widely to activate existing assets and leverage new investments, with various provinces proposing to enhance their application [3][4]. Group 4: Capital Support System - There is a focus on developing a relay-style capital support system to address the funding needs of early-stage and hard-tech companies [4][5]. - Local governments are encouraged to foster angel investment, venture capital, and private equity investments to build a robust capital support framework [4][5]. - Initiatives like the "Create Patient Capital" action in Zhejiang aim to enhance the market-oriented operation of social security tech innovation funds and optimize financial services throughout the technology lifecycle [5]. Group 5: Institutional Environment for Innovation - Enhancing the institutional environment to encourage innovation and tolerate failure is crucial for attracting patient capital [5]. - Local governments are urged to improve institutional inclusivity to shift traditional capital preferences towards long-term investments in frontier hard technologies [5].

Core Insights - The second LA CorpGov Forum is scheduled for September 18, 2026, at The Huntington Library in San Marino, California, featuring panels, networking, and a reception [1] - The forum aims to attract institutional investors and corporate executives, with registration currently open [1] Event Details - The forum will commence at 2:30 PM and include an afternoon of discussions followed by a networking reception at 5:00 PM [1] - The event will be digitized into a report published on CorpGov and its content partners, including Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg Terminals, Reuters via LSEG Workspace, and AlphaSense [4] Previous Forum Highlights - The inaugural LA CorpGov Forum took place on September 4, 2025, in Los Angeles, featuring over a hundred institutional investors and corporate executives [5] - Key topics discussed at the 2025 forum included IPOs, shareholder activism, media and entertainment, governance in Los Angeles, sports business, private boards, and international business [5][6]

Market Performance - The U.S. markets closed with the Nasdaq gaining 0.90%, the Russell 2000 up 0.70%, and the S&P 500 increasing by 0.47%, while the Dow only added 0.04% [2] - Midday updates showed the Nasdaq at +1.22%, Russell 2000 at +0.97%, and S&P 500 at +0.66%, with the Dow slightly down at -0.06% [3] - Technology (+1.69%), communication (+1.07%), and materials (+0.76%) sectors showed significant gains, while staples (-0.87%), health care (-0.83%), financials (-0.14%), and utilities (-0.08%) declined [3] Top Movers - Valaris Ltd surged by 28.8% following the announcement of its acquisition by Transocean in a $5.8 billion deal [4] - TeraWulf saw a 16.2% increase after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $37 price target [4] - Applovin Corp rose by 14.6% after a retraction of a short-seller report linking it to "transnational crime syndicates" [5] Decliners - Kyndryl Holdings experienced a significant drop of 55.2% after the announcement of its CFO's departure amid an accounting review [7] - Hims & Hers Health fell by 24% after being required to pull its GLP-1 products from the market, which constituted nearly all of its growth over the past year [7] - Monday.Com declined by 22% following a miss on earnings [7]

Core Insights - The Baron Financials ETF experienced a decline of 2.22% in the fourth quarter of 2025, underperforming the FactSet Global FinTech Index, which fell by 7.19%, but slightly trailing the MSCI USA Financials Index, which gained 2.07% [2][3][7] - Since its inception on December 31, 2019, the Fund has achieved an annualized return of 10.21%, outperforming the FinTech Index's 2.55% but lagging behind the Financials Index's 11.97% [2][3] Performance Overview - In the fourth quarter, the Fund's performance was driven by favorable stock selection within Information Services and an overweighting in Tech-Enabled Financials, while underexposure to banks negatively impacted relative performance [7][8] - The Fund's average weighting in banks was only 6%, which cost nearly 2 percentage points of relative performance against the Financials Index, where banks had a 38% weighting and were the top-performing industry [7][8] Sector Analysis - The Fund's holdings are segmented into various industries, with Capital Markets representing 31.7%, Information Services at 20.7%, and Payments at 17.4% as of December 31, 2025 [20][23] - The Fund has a significant overweight in Information Services and Capital Markets compared to the Financials Index, while being underweight in Banks and Insurance [20][21] Key Contributors and Detractors - Top contributors to the Fund's performance included Fair Isaac Corporation, S&P Global Inc., and Jack Henry & Associates, with Fair Isaac contributing 0.37% to returns due to strong quarterly results and positive fiscal guidance [12][13][14] - Major detractors included Robinhood Markets, which fell 0.93% due to a decline in customer engagement and cryptocurrency trading volumes, and MercadoLibre, which faced competitive pressures and margin concerns [16][17] Recent Activity - The Fund made significant net purchases in Morgan Stanley, Capital One Financial Corporation, and The Charles Schwab Corporation, focusing on firms with strong growth prospects and diversified revenue streams [25][31] - The Fund trimmed positions in Guidewire Software and Interactive Brokers to manage exposure to the volatile software sector and to fund purchases with better expected returns [32][33] Market Outlook - The macroeconomic environment is viewed as generally healthy, with stable credit trends and a low unemployment rate of 4.4% as of December 2025, supporting growth in the financial sector [34][35] - The Fund anticipates continued growth driven by favorable fiscal policies and easing monetary conditions, with expectations for two rate cuts in the upcoming year [35][36]

Core Insights - The Baron Financials ETF experienced a decline of 2.22% in the fourth quarter of 2025, underperforming the MSCI USA Financials Index which gained 2.07% and the S&P 500 Index which rose by 2.66% [2][3][7] - Since its inception, the Fund has achieved a 10.21% annualized return, outperforming the FactSet Global FinTech Index which only rose by 2.55% [2][3] Performance Overview - In the fourth quarter, the Fund's performance was influenced by favorable stock selection within Information Services and an overweighting in Tech-Enabled Financials, despite underperformance against the Financials Index due to low exposure to banks [7][8] - The Fund's annualized performance over various periods shows a 0.91% gain over one year, 16.52% over three years, and 4.01% over five years [3] Market Context - The fourth quarter of 2025 saw a steady finish for equity markets, driven by easing economic pressures and lower interest rates, with large-cap technology stocks leading the market [6] - The Federal Reserve's rate cuts contributed to a favorable environment for financial markets, with large-cap stocks outperforming mid and small-cap stocks [6] Fund Strategy and Holdings - The Fund maintains a growth-oriented investment strategy focused on financial and financial-related companies, emphasizing those with sustainable competitive advantages and strong management [5] - As of December 31, 2025, the Fund held 43 positions, with the top 10 holdings representing 43.8% of net assets [19][22] Sector Allocation - The Fund's sector allocation includes 31.7% in Capital Markets, 20.7% in Information Services, and 17.4% in Payments, with a notable underweight in Banks at 8.2% [20][23] - The Fund's holdings are primarily classified as Leaders (75.6% of net assets) and Challengers (24.2% of net assets), indicating a focus on established companies with stable growth [21] Recent Activity - The Fund made significant net purchases in Morgan Stanley and Capital One Financial Corporation, reflecting a strategy to invest in firms with strong growth potential and diversified revenue streams [25][31] - The Fund trimmed positions in Guidewire Software and Interactive Brokers to manage exposure to the volatile software sector [32] Outlook - The macroeconomic environment is viewed as generally healthy, with expectations for continued growth supported by fiscal stimulus and easing monetary policy [34][35] - Political developments are seen as a potential risk, particularly regarding regulatory changes that could impact the financial sector [36]