In today’s briefing:
- The Bunny Returns: Playboy’s Market Comeback
- GE Aerospace’s New Focus: How LEAP Engine Retrofits & $4B in Services Could Up Their Game!
- Bullish US LLC (BLSH): Peeking at the IPO Prospectus of a Powerhouse Global Digital Asset Platform
- Venture Global (VG) Six Month Summary: Failed IPO Shows How Fast Wall Street Love Can Fade
- Kinder Morgan: Haynesville Gas Gathering Expansion for Robust Growth Potential In Pipeline Utilization!
- 3M’s Power Moves Against Tariffs & FX Shocks: What Is Its Survival Strategy!
- Chevron Just Won Big: What Its $53 Billion Hess Acquisition & Legal Victory Over Exxon Really Mean!
- Marsh & McLennan’s Latest Earnings: How Economic Agility & Analytics Are Fueling Resilience!
- Fastenal Company: Will Its Expansion Of E-commerce Capabilities Help Them Up The Ante?
- Carlsmed Inc. (CARL): MedTech Makes Uninspiring Debut, Opens Flat and Trades Below Issue
The Bunny Returns: Playboy’s Market Comeback
- Playboy, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLBY) is undergoing a transformation to an asset-light business model centered around its iconic brand, positioning the company for sustainable profitability
- The strategy is starting to yield tangible improvements in profitability, as evidenced by its return to positive adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2025.
- Playboy’s current valuation (2.7x EV/2025 sales) does not fully reflect its long-term earnings potential. As licensing continues to scale and margins expand, the company is poised for a meaningful re-rating.
GE Aerospace’s New Focus: How LEAP Engine Retrofits & $4B in Services Could Up Their Game!
- General Electric Company (GE) Aerospace’s second quarter of 2025 earnings report reflects a robust performance and a constructive outlook characterized by growth in revenue, profits, and operational efficiencies.
- The company continues to leverage its strong position within the aerospace industry, both in commercial and defense sectors, to sustain and enhance its performance metrics.
- In the reported quarter, GE Aerospace exhibited solid growth across several financial parameters.
Bullish US LLC (BLSH): Peeking at the IPO Prospectus of a Powerhouse Global Digital Asset Platform
- The is an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services.
- Reflecting their strong market presence, the Bullish Exchange’s total trading volume since launch has exceeded $1.25 trillion as of March 31, 2025.
- The digital assets space, especially crypto-exchanges, is one that has the strong tailwind from legislation passed by lawmakers which is anticipated to increase adoption from a more institutional investor base.
Venture Global (VG) Six Month Summary: Failed IPO Shows How Fast Wall Street Love Can Fade
- Venture Global, Inc.’s IPO was one of the largest capital raises of the year, pulling in $1.75 billion through the sale of 70 million shares at $25.00 per share.
- In the months following the IPO, the performance worsened. By April, Venture Global shares had plunged to a low of $6.75, marking a staggering 73% decline from its IPO price.
- Regaining credibility will require not only strong quarterly results but also a sustained effort to rebuild institutional confidence.
Kinder Morgan: Haynesville Gas Gathering Expansion for Robust Growth Potential In Pipeline Utilization!
- Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) delivered quarterly results that highlighted notable financial performance and forwardlooking business prospects, especially in the context of the growing international demand for natural gas.
- Positively, Kinder Morgan reported strong financial growth, with adjusted EBITDA and EPS increasing by 6% and 12% respectively compared to the second quarter of 2024.
- The company expects to exceed its budget for 2025, buoyed by the promising acquisition of Outrigger Energy.
3M’s Power Moves Against Tariffs & FX Shocks: What Is Its Survival Strategy!
- 3M Company’s recent earnings presentation highlighted a mixed performance across different metrics, reflecting both strides in operational efficiency and challenges from macroeconomic factors.
- With an adjusted earnings per share of $2.16, up 12% year-over-year and surpassing expectations, 3M reported a solid quarter.
- Organic sales growth of 1.5% showed a third consecutive quarter of growth across all business groups, demonstrating some resilience despite external challenges.
Chevron Just Won Big: What Its $53 Billion Hess Acquisition & Legal Victory Over Exxon Really Mean!
- Chevron has officially closed its $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation following a decisive arbitration victory over ExxonMobil, marking one of the most consequential moves in the global oil and gas sector this decade.
- The long-disputed deal had been mired in uncertainty due to Exxon’s contractual claims over Hess’s stake in the Guyana oil fields—a globally significant resource discovery with multi-decade production potential.
- However, a panel of international arbitrators sided with Chevron and Hess, clearing the way for the transaction to proceed.
Marsh & McLennan’s Latest Earnings: How Economic Agility & Analytics Are Fueling Resilience!
- Marsh & McLennan Companies reported a solid second quarter with a 12% increase in revenue, a 14% rise in adjusted operating income, and an 11% growth in adjusted EPS, aligning well with their expectations, despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.
- Underlying revenue increased by 4%, with contributions from various business segments including Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman.
- The company continues to navigate a complex operating environment affected by geopolitical instability, trade wars, extreme weather, and emerging AI opportunities.
Fastenal Company: Will Its Expansion Of E-commerce Capabilities Help Them Up The Ante?
- Fastenal Company’s Q2 2025 results demonstrated a notable blend of achievements and challenges.
- The quarter marked a milestone with sales exceeding $2 billion for the first time, reflecting an 8.6% year-over-year increase.
- This growth, the strongest since early 2023, primarily stemmed from strategic market share gains, effective execution of the company’s strategic plan, and incremental pricing actions aimed at countering supply chain cost pressures.
Carlsmed Inc. (CARL): MedTech Makes Uninspiring Debut, Opens Flat and Trades Below Issue
- Carlsmed, Inc. (CARL) priced a full-size deal of 6.7mm shares at $15.00 (midpoint of the range) and opened at $15.00.
- There were concerns with the color coming from the book as the underwriters failed to provide price guidance to investors the day of pricing on the deal.
- Given that the deal “broke” on day one, we believe investors “may” be turned off by the company in the short term.
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