In today’s briefing:
- Bright Horizons’ Backup Care Upside: What’s Behind Its Explosive 26% Surge?
- Unpacking the Henry Hub Rally and the Forces Driving It
- Oil futures: Crude ends lower as Russian shipments eyed
- SSI Newsletter Highlights: Acquisition Proposals, Merger Arbitrage, and Activist Pushbacks in Focus
- POET: With 350 Million in Cash
- MODG: TopGolf Sale Will Meaningfully Improve Balance Sheet
- Oil futures: Prices higher after soft start to session on surplus fears
- CSW Industrials Just Entered a High-Gear Growth Cycle — Powered by M&A
- Exponent Inc. Is Winning Big in Proactive Consulting…
- Fortune Brands Innovations Doubles Down on Google Partnerships — Could This Up Their Game In Digital Sales?
Bright Horizons’ Backup Care Upside: What’s Behind Its Explosive 26% Surge?
- Bright Horizons Family Solutions recently reported its third-quarter financial results, delivering strong performance with notable growth across its key service segments.
- Revenue increased by 12% to $803 million, driven by significant demand for its education and care benefits.
- Adjusted earnings per share rose by 41% to $1.57, exceeding the company’s expectations.
Unpacking the Henry Hub Rally and the Forces Driving It
- Surging U.S. LNG exports, stronger power demand, and shifting weather models have tightened fundamentals, driving Henry Hub futures to near three-year highs despite record output and above-average storage levels.
- Henry Hub’s rally since mid-October has been driven by record LNG exports and colder winter forecasts, which outweighed rising U.S. production and above-average storage levels.
- Options positioning shows short-term caution but growing medium-term optimism, with higher call interest across later contracts signaling expectations for firmer Henry Hub prices into early-2026.
Oil futures: Crude ends lower as Russian shipments eyed
- Crude oil futures ended lower Monday despite rebounding from a soft start in response to reports crude loadings had resumed at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
- Front-month Jan25 ICE Brent futures were trading at $64.09/b (2031 GMT) versus Friday’s settle of $64.39/b, while Dec25 NYMEX WTI settled at $59.91/b against a previous close of $60.09/b.
- Ship tracking data showed two oil tankers had docked at Novorossiysk over the weekend, while Reuters quoted local officials saying that crude loadings had resumed following Friday’s drone strikes.
SSI Newsletter Highlights: Acquisition Proposals, Merger Arbitrage, and Activist Pushbacks in Focus
- Golden Entertainment’s acquisition proposal by its chairman values the business at 1x EBITDA, with potential for a 30% increase.
- TrueCar’s founder acquisition at $2.55/share has an 11% spread, with expected closure in Q4 2025 or early 2026.
- AUB Group received a non-binding A$45/share takeover bid from EQT, with a 19% spread and consortium interest.
POET: With 350 Million in Cash
- POET Technologies is disrupting the photonics industry with a new technology that integrates optical and electronic devices into a single chip, which is smaller, cheaper, faster, more scalable and consumes less power than the current solutions.
- The POET Optical Interposer , and optical engines and light source products based on it, are produced at wafer scale, in large quantities and at low cost using conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques.
- POET now has started to receive orders and has $350 million in cash to ramp production and support working capital as it scales.
MODG: TopGolf Sale Will Meaningfully Improve Balance Sheet
- MODG currently trades at a $1.9BN market cap and a $5.4BN enterprise value, but that capital structure is about to materially change.
- With the announced sale of 60% of Topgolf to private equity, MODG will no longer consolidate Topgolf’s heavy lease liabilities—including operating leases, financing leases, and deemed landlord financing obligations—meaning its reported debt and enterprise value will drop significantly.
- Topgolf accounts for the vast majority of these liabilities, while the core Callaway and Active Lifestyle businesses primarily lease retail stores and distribution centers on a much smaller scale.
Oil futures: Prices higher after soft start to session on surplus fears
- Crude oil futures ended higher after a soft trading session earlier when immediate concerns around disruptions to Russian crude receded as loadings resumed from the crucial Novorossiysk port.
- Front-month Jan26 ICE Brent futures were last trading at $65/b (2017 GMT) versus Monday’s settle of $64.20/b, while Dec25 NYMEX WTI was at $60.78/b against a previous close of $59.91/b.
- Benchmarks have struggled in the early part of the week after loadings resumed from the key Black Sea oil hub following a two-day suspension in the wake of drone strikes.
CSW Industrials Just Entered a High-Gear Growth Cycle — Powered by M&A
- CSW Industrials, a multifaceted company operating in diverse industrial segments, reported a robust performance in its fiscal 2026 second quarter.
- The company’s financial achievements were underpinned by strategic acquisitions and disciplined capital allocation.
- Revenue soared to a record $277 million, marking a 22% increase year-over-year, although largely driven by acquisitions like Aspen Manufacturing, PSP Products, and PF Waterworks.
Exponent Inc. Is Winning Big in Proactive Consulting…
- Exponent, Inc. delivered robust financial performance in Q3 2025, reflecting strong demand across its diversified portfolio.
- Revenues experienced a notable increase, with total revenues rising by 8% year-over-year to $147.1 million, and net revenues—a critical metric excluding reimbursements—increasing by 10% to $137.1 million.
- This growth was largely driven by heightened demand for dispute-related and reactive engagements across key sectors like energy, transportation, life sciences, and construction.
Fortune Brands Innovations Doubles Down on Google Partnerships — Could This Up Their Game In Digital Sales?
- Fortune Brands Innovations reported its third-quarter results for 2025, providing important insights into its current status and future outlook.
- The company’s performance in this period underscores both strengths and challenges within its business segments, amidst a fluctuating macroeconomic environment.
- Sales for Fortune Brands Innovations held steady at approximately $1.1 billion, remaining flat compared to the same quarter in 2024.
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