US equity futures edged higher on Tuesday morning as oil prices retreated from the prior session’s sharp gains, offering some relief to markets rattled by the latest flare-up in the Persian Gulf.

Iran launched missiles and drones at the UAE and attacked US naval vessels guiding commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, sending Brent crude up nearly 6%.

A partial pullback in crude on Tuesday, combined with a strong earnings beat from Pinterest and a report that Apple is exploring chip production talks with Intel, helped stabilise the pre-market tone even as the underlying geopolitical situation remained fragile.

5 things to know before Wall Street opens

1. Futures point higher despite Gulf escalation

Futures pointed to a higher open, with the S&P 500 up 0.27%, the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.4%, and Dow futures gaining 126 points (0.26%).

The advance comes after a bruising Monday session in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 557 points to close at 48,941.90, the S&P 500 slid 0.41% to 7,200.75, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.19% to settle at 25,067.80.

2. Brent dips from Monday’s surge but remains elevated

Brent crude futures fell 1.6% to $112.67 a barrel at 6:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, after settling nearly 6% higher on Monday at $114.44 as Iran attacked UAE oil infrastructure at Fujairah and engaged US military vessels attempting to guide civilian ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE’s air defence system engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones during the overnight assault.

3. Pinterest surges on record revenue and strong guidance

Pinterest shares jumped 16.8% in after-hours and pre-market trading after the visual discovery platform posted first-quarter revenue of $1.008 billon, an 18% year-on-year increase that beat analyst estimates by 4.4%.

Global monthly active users rose 11% to an all-time high of 631 million, the platform’s tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit user growth.

4. Apple-Intel chip talks lift Intel; Apple steady

Intel shares (NASDAQ: INTC) rose 3.3% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that Apple had held exploratory talks with Intel and Samsung about producing the main processors for its devices, as the iPhone-maker looks to reduce its dependence on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

The talks remain at an early stage and have not resulted in any orders, but they reflect Apple’s growing concern about supply chain concentration.

Tim Cook indicated this in last week’s earnings call, as he noted that the company currently has “less flexibility in the supply chain than we normally would.”

5. Earnings strength meets geopolitical caution

The broader earnings season has provided a meaningful floor for equities.

According to a note from BlackRock Investment Institute, US corporate results have been robust across sectors, with the technology complex in particular delivering results that have reinforced confidence in the AI investment cycle.

Analysts caution, however, that even resilient US equities will not be fully insulated if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains substantially disrupted.

The post Dow futures soar 126 points: 5 things to know before market opens appeared first on Invezz

The post Dow futures soar 126 points: 5 things to know before market opens appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

Investors are uncomfortable seeing losses, especially in stocks they rely on for steady income.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) all fit that uneasy profile as the share prices have been battered, and the yields are high enough to make some investors wonder whether the market is flashing a warning.

But the deeper read is different as all three companies are still producing cash, all three are still paying their dividends, and in each case the payout remains tied to a business model that is more durable than the stock chart suggests.

Current yields work out to about 5.7% for EPD, 6.5% for Pfizer and 6.8% for UPS at today’s prices.

EPD: Pipeline business built for ugly markets

Enterprise Products Partners is not an oil producer, so it does not live and die with commodity prices.

It is a fee-based midstream operator that gets paid to transport, store and process hydrocarbons through a sprawling US network.

That model matters because it turns EPD into something closer to a toll road than a bet on crude prices.

The company says it has raised its distribution for 27 consecutive years, and its first-quarter 2026 results showed why income investors keep coming back.

Enterprise generated $2.7 billion of distributable cash flow in the quarter and said that cash supported another 2.8% increase in the distribution.

That is the key point for anyone tempted to sell after a slump. EPD’s payout is not being funded by hope or leverage; it is being funded by recurring cash flow.

The company retained $1.5 billion of DCF in the quarter after distributions, money it can use for growth projects, buybacks, or debt reduction.

Pfizer: Market has already priced in a very grim future

Pfizer is the most bruised name in the group. The stock is far below its pandemic-era peak, but the business is not standing still.

Pfizer’s 2025 annual review says revenue came in at $62.6 billion, and the company has continued to lean on cost cuts and its post-Seagen oncology portfolio as it tries to rebuild growth.

It also just declared another $0.43 quarterly dividend, its 350th consecutive quarterly payout.

The market’s problem with Pfizer is not that the story is broken; it is that expectations are extremely low.

The company reaffirmed its 2026 outlook for revenue of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.80 to $3.00, while continuing to highlight cost savings and new-product momentum.

That leaves room for a re-rating if execution stabilizes.

In other words, investors selling now are not just taking a loss. They are also giving up a 6%-plus yield at a point when the stock is already priced for disappointment.

UPS: Dividend is living through a restructuring

UPS is the hardest of the three to own because the business has been shrinking in places that used to matter a lot.

But the company is clearly in a deliberate restructuring, not an uncontrolled decline.

Its latest quarter showed $21.2 billion in revenue, with management reiterating a 2026 revenue target of about $89.7 billion and an adjusted operating margin goal of 9.6%.

UPS has also said it is cutting Amazon volume sharply, while targeting about $3 billion in year-over-year cost savings in 2026 after roughly $600 million of savings in the first quarter alone.

That matters because the dividend story rests on cash generation.

UPS approved a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, and the company’s annual report shows 2025 revenue of $88.7 billion.

The yield is high because the share price is low, not because the payout has already cracked.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Investors should conduct their own research or consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

The post Why selling these 3 dividend stocks could be a mistake appeared first on Invezz

The post Why selling these 3 dividend stocks could be a mistake appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

Sales of Tesla vehicles in the United Kingdom rose sharply in April, extending a recent recovery trend.

However, performance across Europe remained uneven as competition and structural challenges persisted.

The company sold 831 vehicles in the UK during the month, marking a 62% increase year-on-year and the second consecutive month of growth following six months of declining sales.

UK sales rebound continues

The improvement comes despite a sequential drop in registrations from March, when 8,599 vehicles were recorded.

The decline reflects typical seasonal patterns, with April historically one of the weaker months following strong quarter-end deliveries.

According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Tesla registered 11,739 vehicles in the first quarter.

For 2025, the company recorded 45,513 registrations in the UK, down 9.6% from more than 50,000 units in the previous year.

Mixed performance across Europe

Across Europe, Tesla’s recovery has been more uneven.

Registrations more than doubled in several markets in April, rising 111% in Sweden and 102% in Denmark, according to data from Mobility Sweden and bilstatistik.dk.

France also saw a 112% increase, while registrations in the Netherlands rose 23%.

However, other markets recorded sharp declines. Registrations fell 61% in Norway, 47% in Spain, 33% in Portugal, and 5% in Italy, based on data from national authorities and industry groups.

Tesla’s European sales have rebounded strongly so far this year after two consecutive annual declines, supported by an easier comparison base and increased demand for electric vehicles.

Higher fuel prices following the Iran conflict have boosted interest in alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles, contributing to the recovery in several markets.

Structural challenges persist

Despite the rebound, Tesla continues to face structural challenges in Europe.

The company lost nearly half of its market share in the region in 2025, driven by intensifying competition, a limited product lineup, and broader reactions to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s political positions.

Tesla has not introduced a new mass-market model since the Model Y in 2020, adding to pressure from competitors offering a wider range of vehicles.

Stock performance remains weak

Tesla’s stock has remained under pressure, declining about 14% year-to-date and falling more than 2% following its March-quarter results.

Investor focus has increasingly shifted away from near-term vehicle sales toward the company’s progress in artificial intelligence initiatives.

Tesla’s long-term valuation is now closely tied to its “physical AI” strategy, which includes autonomous driving, robotaxis, and humanoid robots.

The company launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June, but expansion into additional cities has been slower than expected, raising concerns about scalability and revenue generation.

While demand in key European markets is recovering, the company faces mounting competitive pressure and must demonstrate meaningful progress in both its automotive and AI businesses.

Its ability to scale production, expand its product lineup, and deliver on its autonomous and robotics ambitions will remain critical in shaping investor confidence.

The post Tesla sales in UK continue recovery, jump 62% in April appeared first on Invezz

The post Tesla sales in UK continue recovery, jump 62% in April appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

Rolls-Royce share price has held steady in the past two days, helped by the company’s reassurance that its business was still firing on all cylinders despite the ongoing weakness in its business. RR rose to 1,200p on Monday, up from the month’s low of 1.093p.

Rolls-Royce Holdings helped by its diversification and execution

Rolls-Royce Holdings and other companies in the civil aviation industry are facing major headwinds this year, including the recent collapse of Spirit Airlines, a top player in the low-cost industry.

Jer fuel prices have soared, and traffic in some regions, especially in the Middle East has slowed dramatically amid the ongoing US-Iran war.

Rolls-Royce is exposed to this weakness, especially if the crisis escalates as jet fuel shortages in Europe may affect its operations. A good example of this is Lufthansa, which has slashed 20,000 short-haul flights.

In a statement at its annual general meeting last week, the management maintained that it had started the year well and that it was on track to hit its target, which includes an underlying profit of between £4 billion and £4.2 billion and a free cash flow of between £3.6 billion and £3.8 billion.

The management noted the large engine flying hours rose by 5% to 115% of 2019 levels in the first quarter. It expects that the LFH will be between 115% and 120% of 2019 levels.

These numbers are important because of the company’s business model, which includes offering services to airlines using its engines. These companies pay per engine flight hour, meaning that it only makes money when the engine is flying.

Notably, the management noted that there was  a significant recovery in the EFH in the Middle East, with that of the Trent XWB being above the pre-conflict levels. EFH has remained strong in other regions, with the management noting that most of the flight cancellations were in the narrow body segment.

Additionally, Rolls-Royce is seeing strong orders for its engines despite the ongoing challenges in the industry. For example, it received orders for the Trent 1000 XE, which will be on eight Boeing planes in April. The company may also benefit when Trump visits China, where airlines are expected to make orders of over 500 planes.

Additionally, the company has become a major player in the data center industry, where it is providing solutions to companies and utilities. Its backlog in the power sector rose to £7.3 billion. The company is also aiming to become a major player in the Small Modular Reactor industry, where it has started receiving orders.

Rolls-Royce share price technical analysis

RR stock chart | Source: TradingView 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the Rolls-Royce stock price has rebounded in the past few days. This rebound happened after forming a double-bottom pattern at $1,093 and a neckline at 1,322p.

The stock is attempting to move above the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). Also, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has turned around and is attempting to cross 50. 

Therefore, the combination of the double-bottom pattern and the rising RSI means the stock will rebound, initially to 1,322p followed by the all-time high of 1,413p. A drop below the key support at 1,093p will invalidate the bullish outlook.

The post Rolls-Royce share price flags a rare bullish pattern: is it about to soar? appeared first on Invezz

The post Rolls-Royce share price flags a rare bullish pattern: is it about to soar? appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

Paramount Skydance reported first-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven by growth in its streaming and film businesses.

The media company posted revenue of nearly $7.35 billion for the quarter, marking a 2% increase from the same period last year.

The performance was supported by gains in its direct-to-consumer streaming division, which includes Paramount+, BET+, and Pluto.

Streaming business drives revenue growth

Revenue from the streaming unit rose 11% year-on-year to $2.4 billion.

Paramount+, the company’s flagship platform, saw particularly strong momentum, with revenue increasing 17% compared to the same period last year.

The platform added 700,000 subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to nearly 80 million.

This growth came despite price increases implemented in January, marking the first hike since August 2024.

The continued expansion highlights the company’s focus on strengthening its streaming operations amid an increasingly competitive market.

Film studio performance strengthens

Paramount’s film studio division also contributed to the quarterly upside.

Revenue in this segment climbed 11% to approximately $1.28 billion compared to the prior year.

The release of “Scream 7” played a key role in boosting performance and emerged as the highest-grossing film in the franchise.

The company also noted that it has nearly doubled its film slate for 2026 compared to 2025 following the merger with Skydance.

Traditional TV business faces pressure

Despite gains in streaming and film, Paramount’s TV media segment continued to face headwinds.

The division, which includes CBS and cable networks such as Nickelodeon, MTV, and BET, reported revenue of $3.67 billion, down 6% year-on-year.

The decline reflects ongoing cord-cutting trends, which continue to weigh on traditional television revenues across the industry.

Earnings beat estimates

Paramount Skydance delivered adjusted earnings per share of 23 cents, exceeding analyst expectations of 15 cents.

Revenue also came in above forecasts of $7.28 billion.

Paramount reported net earnings of $168 million, or 15 cents per share, for the quarter, compared with $152 million, or 22 cents per share, in the same period last year under its previous company structure, according to Wall Street estimates compiled by LSEG.

The results mark the first quarter under the company’s new reporting structure following its merger with Skydance, which includes reorganised expense allocations across its streaming, studios, and TV segments.

Outlook reaffirmed amid ongoing deals

The company reaffirmed its full-year outlook, projecting $30 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA.

The earnings release comes nine months after the Paramount-Skydance merger and amid efforts to complete another major deal the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount Skydance expects the transaction to close by the end of the third quarter, pending regulatory review.

The deal, valued at $31 per share in cash, has already received shareholder approval from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Cost savings and strategic focus

As part of its integration strategy, Paramount Skydance reiterated its plan to achieve $3 billion in cost savings.

The company expects more than $2.5 billion of these reductions to be realised by the end of 2026.

Additionally, the company is working to consolidate the technology stack across its streaming platforms by mid-year.

Improving streaming infrastructure remains a key priority following the merger led by David Ellison.

The post Paramount Skydance earnings surpass expectations amid merger shifts appeared first on Invezz

The post Paramount Skydance earnings surpass expectations amid merger shifts appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is heading into its first-quarter 2026 report after the close on Tuesday, May 5.

AMD stock is already acting like a winner before a single number is printed.

The stock last traded around $341.54, while consensus targets sit at $287.91, a reminder that the market may already be pricing in much of the good news.

Options traders are bracing for an about 8% move either way.

Put simply, this is not a normal earnings, it is a test of whether AMD’s recent run has room to stretch further or is already too far ahead of the story.

AMD Q1 earnings: What the Street is expecting?

Wall Street’s setup is firm as analysts are looking for roughly $9.9 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of about $1.27 to $1.30, both up around a third from a year earlier.

The figures indicate that AMD enters the print with a beat already close to the base case, not the upside surprise.

The real issue is what management says next.

In the last quarter, AMD posted record fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.53 on revenue of $10.3 billion, but the stock still sold off after management guided first-quarter revenue to about $9.8 billion and warned that the current quarter would come in sequentially lower.

AMD stock fell 8% in after-hours trading, and that guidance included about $100 million from China-bound sales, adding another layer of uncertainty.

Bull and bear cases start from the same facts

The bullish case is straightforward, as DA Davidson upgraded AMD to Buy and lifted its target to $375.

Analyst Gil Luria, cited “a structural increase in CPU demand” and saying the firm’s 2026 revenue estimate was raised by $2 billion after stronger industry data points.

Stifel also raised its target to $320.

Bulls point to AMD’s expanding AI footprint, including the February deal to supply up to six gigawatts of chips to Meta, with MI450 hardware and the Helios rack-scale platform part of that rollout.

The bear case is less about the business and more about the valuation.

HSBC downgraded AMD to Hold ahead of earnings and lifted its target to $340, warning that the stock’s sharp rally has pushed expectations too high.

The message from the skeptic camp is that AMD does not need to miss to disappoint; it only needs to be predictable.

Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research captured that mood in Reuters:

Hold, Sell, or Buy the dip?

Wall Street views are divided, largely along the lines of different investor types.

For long-term holders, holding still makes sense.

AMD’s AI partnerships with Meta and OpenAI, plus the expected MI450 and Helios ramps in the second half of 2026, keep the multi-year thesis intact even if tonight’s call is merely good rather than spectacular.

For traders, trimming or selling a piece is defensible.

The stock has surged roughly two-thirds in about a month, options are pricing an 8% swing, and the company’s last “good but not great” guide was enough to knock the shares lower after hours.

That is a real risk when expectations are this elevated.

Buying the dip is the hardest call as it only looks attractive if AMD pairs the report with a clearly stronger Q2 outlook and convincing commentary on the AI ramp.

The post AMD Q1 earnings tonight: Hold, Sell, or Buy the dip in advance? appeared first on Invezz

The post AMD Q1 earnings tonight: Hold, Sell, or Buy the dip in advance? appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

UniCredit has turned its long pursuit of Commerzbank into a formal takeover fight.

On Tuesday, the Italian lender said it had launched its €35 billion all-share offer for the German bank just one day after UniCredit shareholders approved the capital increase needed to back the deal.

The takeover bid came as UniCredit reported record first-quarter profit of €3.2 billion.

The timing is crucial as UniCredit wants the market to see strength, scale, and resolve, even as Berlin keeps pushing back and Commerzbank insists it wants to stay independent.

The deal Berlin did not want, but could not fully block

At its core, this is a political as much as a financial story.

The German government still owns 12.7% of Commerzbank and has repeatedly said a hostile takeover would be unacceptable.

Commerzbank chief executive Bettina Orlopp has also been blunt, calling UniCredit’s approach hostile and accusing the Italian bank of offering “very low” value and too little detail on how any merger would work.

Even so, UniCredit has kept building its position since 2024 and now owns 26.77% directly, with its total exposure higher once derivatives are included.

The structure matters as UniCredit’s offer is a voluntary share exchange, set at 0.485 UniCredit shares for each Commerzbank share, which the bank said implies a price of €30.8 a share, or about a 4% premium to the reference price in mid-March.

The point is to move just above the 30% threshold under German takeover rules, where larger purchases become easier later without forcing an immediate full-control bid.

UniCredit says settlement is expected by the first half of 2027, after regulatory approvals.

Orcel’s pitch: Bigger profits, sharper focus

Andrea Orcel is arguing that Commerzbank is worth more inside UniCredit’s orbit than on its own.

In late April, UniCredit presented a transformation plan for the German lender that targeted roughly €5.1 billion in net profit by 2028, about €600 million above current consensus estimates.

The plan also called for tighter cost control, a leaner international footprint, and a stronger push into the German market through HypoVereinsbank, UniCredit’s existing local arm.

Orcel has implied that Commerzbank can either stay as it is or become part of a larger bank with a clearer industrial strategy.

UniCredit is not waiting for the deal to close before benefiting from the position it already holds.

The bank said on Tuesday that its first-quarter profit was helped by higher dividends from strategic financial investments and by bringing its life insurance business in-house.

It also raised its full-year profit forecast to at least €11 billion, giving Orcel more room to argue that the Commerzbank bid is a strategic move.

A test case for Europe’s next banking phase

The wider significance goes beyond one German lender.

The offer is one of the biggest European cross-border banking deals since the 2008 financial crisis, which is why the bid is being watched so closely in Frankfurt, Rome and Brussels.

The European Central Bank’s chief supervisor, Claudia Buch, said on Monday that supervisors treat cross-border and domestic mergers alike, even as she warned governments not to weaken bank capital rules just to encourage lending.

That puts the policy mood firmly on the side of consolidation, even if the politics are still messy.

For investors, the message is that this is no longer just a rumor or a stake-building exercise.

UniCredit has now put a formal offer on the table, Commerzbank has rejected it, and Berlin is still resisting.

What happens next will matter well beyond these two banks, because the deal is effectively a referendum on whether Europe can build larger lenders that compete more like their US peers.

The post What UniCredit’s $28B Commerzbank bid mean for European banking? appeared first on Invezz

The post What UniCredit’s $28B Commerzbank bid mean for European banking? appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

European shares moved slightly lower on Tuesday as investors remained cautious following fresh attacks involving the United States and Iran in Gulf waters.

Elevated global oil prices also added to market uncertainty.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined 0.1% to 604.68 points as of 0704 GMT.

The index had already recorded its steepest drop in a month during the previous session, reflecting heightened volatility in the region.

Major regional indices also traded in negative territory.

London’s FTSE 100 index fell by 1%, mirroring broader weakness across European markets.

Middle East escalation fuels market anxiety

Investor sentiment remained fragile amid rising geopolitical risks.

The latest escalation followed renewed attacks in Gulf waters involving the United States and Iran.

The tensions come after Donald Trump attempted to facilitate the passage of stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

This key shipping route connects the Gulf to global markets and typically carries oil and gas supplies equivalent to around 20% of daily global demand.

The developments have heightened concerns over potential disruptions to energy supplies, which in turn have driven oil prices higher.

Oil surge raises inflation concerns in Europe

Soaring oil prices have emerged as a major concern for energy-dependent European economies.

Higher energy costs are fuelling inflation fears across the region.

This has led market participants to anticipate further monetary tightening.

Expectations are now building for two to three interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank this year.

The prospect of tighter financial conditions has weighed on equities, pushing European shares below levels seen before the escalation of the conflict.

Trade tensions add to market pressure

Adding to the fragile sentiment, fresh trade tensions between the United States and the European Union further weighed on investor confidence.

US President Donald Trump said he plans to raise tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the European Union to 25%, escalating tensions between the two sides.

The move comes as Washington accuses the bloc of failing to comply with a previously agreed trade deal.

“I am pleased to announce that, based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States,” Trump said in a social media post, as reported by Reuters. “The Tariff will be increased to 25%.”

Several major European automakers, including Volkswagen AG, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG, operate assembly plants in the United States, which could shield part of their production from the new tariffs.

The announcement marks a departure from an earlier transatlantic agreement under which the European Union had agreed to eliminate tariffs on US industrial goods in exchange for a 15% tariff ceiling on most EU exports.

HSBC slides on fraud-linked loss

Among individual stocks, shares of HSBC dropped 5.1% after the bank reported an unexpected $400 million loss tied to a fraud case in Britain.

The loss impacted the lender’s first-quarter performance, with profit coming in below market expectations.

The development added further pressure on the broader financial sector.

AB InBev gains on strong quarterly performance

In contrast, Anheuser-Busch InBev provided a bright spot for investors.

Shares of the Belgian beer maker rose 6.3% after it reported quarterly sales and profits that exceeded forecasts.

The strong earnings performance helped offset some of the broader market weakness, highlighting selective resilience among European companies despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges.

Overall, European markets remained under pressure as geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices continued to dominate investor sentiment.

The post European shares slip as US-Iran tensions escalate, oil stays elevated appeared first on Invezz

The post European shares slip as US-Iran tensions escalate, oil stays elevated appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

UniCredit delivered the strongest quarterly earnings in its history on Tuesday, posting a first-quarter net profit that significantly exceeded market expectations and prompted a further upgrade to full-year guidance.

The results came on the same day it formally launched a takeover offer for Commerzbank, the German lender it has pursued for more than a year amid fierce political and boardroom resistance.

UniCredit Q1 earnings: Record quarter and guidance upgrade

UniCredit reported a first-quarter net profit of €3.2 billon, comfortably above the €2.7 billon analyst consensus the bank had compiled ahead of the results.

The result marked approximately a 14% increase on the same period a year earlier, when the group had posted a then-record €2.8 billon.

The bank’s 21st consecutive quarter of profitable growth cemented chief executive Andrea Orcel’s position as arguably the most effective operator in European banking, having rebuilt the group from a decade of underperformance.

Alongside the results, UniCredit raised its full-year 2026 net profit guidance to “at least €11 billion,” from a prior ambition of “circa €11 billion” set out in its February strategy day.

The change in language — from “circa” to “at least” — is deliberately significant: it signals management confidence that the group will exceed rather than merely meet its target, shifting from aspiration to a floor.

The bank’s FY25 adjusted net profit was €10.6 billon; reaching at least €11 billon in 2026 would represent growth of at least 4%, with the momentum of the first quarter suggesting further upside.

Revenue growth, fee income expansion and contained loan losses all contributed to the beat.

The group’s cost-to-income ratio, already among the best in the European sector, is expected to remain below 38% for the full year, reflecting the cumulative benefits of the “UniCredit Unlocked” restructuring programme completed in 2025 and the early effects of AI-driven efficiency initiatives now being rolled out across the bank’s 13 core markets.

Mandatory Commerzbank bid goes live

UniCredit launched its formal takeover offer for Commerzbank on Tuesday after its stake in the German lender crossed the critical 30% threshold, a level that triggers a mandatory public offer obligation under German securities law.

The Italian bank now controls approximately 32.64% of Commerzbank, comprising a direct equity holding of around 27% and additional exposure through financial instruments.

The offer is all-share and values Commerzbank at approximately €35 billon, though the implied price per share — around €30.80 — has traded well below Commerzbank’s current market price, complicating the offer’s appeal to independent shareholders.

Commerzbank formally rebuffed the bid in April, stating that an agreed solution was not currently evident and reaffirming its standalone strategy.

The bank is expected to release its own first-quarter 2026 results and an updated strategy through 2030 on 8 May, framed explicitly as a demonstration that Commerzbank can deliver superior returns without UniCredit.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has described any hostile takeover as “unacceptable,” and the federal government — which retains a 12% stake in Commerzbank — has been seeking alternative bidders without success.

EU single-market rules make an outright political block difficult to sustain, and with no white knight having emerged, the legal trajectory increasingly favours UniCredit.

Political and industrial opposition

The bid has drawn opposition that extends well beyond the boardroom.

Germany’s Verdi union, which represents a substantial portion of Commerzbank’s roughly 43,000 employees, has called for the bank’s independence and warned of significant job losses under any merger with HypoVereinsbank, UniCredit’s German subsidiary.

UniCredit’s “Commerzbank Unlocked” blueprint envisages deep restructuring and cost rationalisation across a combined entity, with the two banks estimated to have meaningful overlap in German corporate and retail banking.

UniCredit projects a combined entity generating net revenues of €45 billon and net profit of €21 billon by 2030, with a return on tangible equity above 25%.

Commerzbank’s own standalone targets, to be unveiled on 8 May, are expected to show net profit reaching €4.2 billon by 2028 — ambitious but still materially below what UniCredit claims a merged group could achieve.

What to watch next

Commerzbank’s 8 May results and strategy presentation will be the pivotal moment in determining whether the bid succeeds or stalls.

If Commerzbank can credibly demonstrate a path to returns matching or exceeding the implied value of the UniCredit offer, independent shareholders — who ultimately decide the outcome — may choose to back management.

If not, the pressure to engage will intensify rapidly.

UniCredit, for its part, enters the decisive month from a position of undeniable financial strength.

A record quarter, a lifted guidance floor, a pristine capital ratio and the formal offer already filed leave Orcel with the initiative.

The outcome will shape the structure of European banking for years to come.

The post UniCredit posts record €3.2B Q1 profit, its 21st straight winning quarter appeared first on Invezz

The post UniCredit posts record €3.2B Q1 profit, its 21st straight winning quarter appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.

Over the past year, OpenAI has expanded well beyond chatbots, operating more like a broad technology company with multiple business lines.

A Wall Street Journal report says CEO Sam Altman briefly considered spinning off the company’s robotics and consumer hardware divisions in an Alphabet-style structure.

The idea is to give those businesses their own capital-raising paths and a clearer operating structure.

The catch seems simple, as once lawyers and finance teams dug in, the plan no longer solved the problem it was meant to fix, because the units would still have to be folded into OpenAI’s results.

That left the company with the complexity of a breakup and none of the bookkeeping benefit.

Spinoff plan hits limits

The attraction of a spinoff is easy to understand as fast-growing units can raise money more easily, investors can judge them on their own merits, and the parent company can present a cleaner story.

That is especially useful when one division is still software-heavy and another is capital-intensive hardware.

But the WSJ report said that OpenAI concluded a carve-out would not really change its financial reporting, which meant the strategic point of the exercise disappeared.

In simple words, OpenAI tried changing the structure of a holding company, then ran into the reality that the business still behaves like one integrated operation.

Hardware empire taking shape

The reason the idea surfaced at all is that OpenAI has been building far beyond pure software.

In May 2025, the company bought Jony Ive’s startup io Products in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal and brought Ive in as creative head.

OpenAI wanted to develop devices tailored for the generative AI era.

OpenAI and Ive have said the prototype work is under way, while the company’s July update said the io team had officially merged into OpenAI.

That hardware push does not stop there as OpenAI announced a collaboration with Broadcom in October 2025 to develop 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators.

It has also been active in robotics.

Figure, the humanoid robot startup, has partnered with OpenAI on specialized AI models, and OpenAI has been an investor in the company’s financing rounds.

Separately, 1X Technologies said its Series A2 round was led by OpenAI.

Put together, those moves help explain why the company once considered separating the units: the hardware bets are becoming too large to look like side projects.

OpenAI IPO under pressure

All of this is happening while OpenAI is preparing for a potential public debut that could come as soon as the second half of 2026.

The early discussions are weighing a possible $1 trillion valuation and a fundraising target that could start at $60 billion or more.

But the road there looks messy as OpenAI missed multiple monthly revenue targets earlier this year after losing ground to Anthropic in coding and enterprise markets.

CFO Sarah Friar has raised concerns internally about whether the company could meet future computing commitments if revenue does not grow fast enough.

The post OpenAI IPO push sparks plans for robotics, hardware spinoff: report appeared first on Invezz

The post OpenAI IPO push sparks plans for robotics, hardware spinoff: report appeared first on Girls Rock Investing.