The Memphis Grizzlies, fueled by a triple-double from teenager Cameron Boozer, topped the Portland Trail Blazers 124-103 in a battle of NBA unbeatens on Thursday, Portland guard Ja Morant's first game against his former team ending with an injury.
Boozer, taken third in June's NBA draft, scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and 12 **** ists for the Grizzlies.
The game in Portland was billed as Morant's reunion with the Grizzlies, the team that drafted him second overall in 2019. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 and emerged as a star in his seven-year tenure in Memphis.
He also had a pair of lengthy suspensions and, after multiple injuries limited him to 20 games last season, he was traded in June.
Morant finished with 14 points, two rebounds and three **** ists before exiting in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.

#memphis #game #team

Cameron Boozer sets a historic triple-double record to beat LeBron James originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Memphis Grizzlies have been the surprise story of the 2026-27 NBA season, mostly because of Ty Jerome's fantastic run as the top scorer, leading them to a 5-0 record with their latest win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.
Jerome was pulled back down to earth after averaging 29.8 points and 6.5 **** ists per game for the Grizzlies. Thankfully for Memphis, they still had other phenomenal talents like Cameron Boozer, who was definitely the standout in the win against Portland.
Boozer had the best performance of the night because he was all over the court. He posted the first triple-double of his career by getting 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 **** ists in only 28 minutes.
It was such an impressive performance because he was playing against some talented defenders like Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara. Boozer also showcased why he was seen as one of the most NBA-ready prospects with his poise.

#cameron #memphis

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Cameron Boozer had the first triple-double of his NBA career with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 ***** ists, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-103 on Thursday night to move to 5-0.
The Grizzlies had seven other players in double-figures, including three players off the bench. Isaiah Stewart led the Memphis reserves with 18 points. Deni Avdija led the Blazers with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven ***** ists.
Ja Morant had 14 points and three ***** ists in 23 minutes in his first game against his former team but left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. One game after hitting a game-sealing 3-pointer against the Lakers, Damian Lillard went 3 of 13 from the field on Thursday.
With the Grizzlies holding a 2-point lead, they went on a 10-0 run to make it 87-75 with 2:09 left in the third quarter.
A 3-pointer by Zach Edey with 9:47 left gave the Grizzlies a 96-85 lead, forcing a Blazers timeout.

#points #game #left

SATELLITE BEACH — Satellite kicked off the SSAA Atlantic state playoffs hosting Lemon Bay in the first round on Oct. 29.
The four-seeded Scorpions played their brand of football with efficient offensive play and stingy defense in a 31-7 win over the fifth-seeded Manta Rays.
"I'm proud of the effort. I thought we played hard," Satellite head coach Dan Burke said. "I thought we did what we practiced to do. Looking forward to next week."
Satellite nearly pitched another shutout as Lemon Bay scored its lone touchdown with 1:45 remaining in regulation. The Manta Rays turned the ball over on downs four times, turned the ball over twice and punted once.
It was a new challenge for the Scorpions defense as the Manta Rays operated a triple-option offense. Lemon Bay ended the game averaging 3.2 yards per carry as it totaled 144 yards on 45 attempts.

#thought

Modern football is a game of two parts: the first hour or so, dictated by carefully curated gameplans and training ground patterns; and the final half-hour when a flurry of substitutes come on, rigid structures fade away and a match opens at the seams. ***** nal were dire for most of this game at the City Ground, shut out by Nottingham Forest's red wall. But yet again the power of Mikel Arteta's "finishers" decided a match.
Noni Madueke was sent on at half-time for Eberechi Eze, who had been statuesque at his station on the left touchline, which, in fairness, is not his position. With the clock ticking towards 80 minutes, Madueke did what Eze hadn't and drove at Forest's defence before unleashing a shot, which took a fortunate deflection off Jair Cunha on its way past the helpless Matz Sels. It went down as ***** nal's only shot on target, and in truth it might have been curling wide.
This was the third game in a row in which Arteta rang the changes in the second half as his team struggled to click, after Leeds last weekend and Lille in midweek. Once again he made a triple substitution on 65 minutes, sending on Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres, and once again a stubborn defence was worn down in the final stages. No Premier League side has generated more goals and ***** ists from the bench since the start of last season.
Noni Madueke scored the only goal of the game (Reuters)
Forest were excellent in their determination to blunt ***** nal's attack. Like Eze, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka had little joy, and Oliver Glasner took positives from a performance of cohesion and spirit. Liam Delap was a brilliant nuisance in attack and could have equalised in the final minutes but for Ezri Konsa's last-ditch block. Murillo nearly scored the goal of the season, dribbling in from the left touchline before curling just over the bar with one of the last kicks. But Forest remain third from bottom after a third successive defeat, and their wait for a first home goal of the season goes on.

#final #minutes #Third

VICI's 8% yield mostly reflects a stock down 25%, while OHI raised its dividend for the first time since 2020 with coverage at 1.65x.
Energy Transfer has raised its distribution 19 consecutive quarters with 2.3x coverage, while AT&T covers its dividend at just 42% of $18B+ free cash flow.
Building a portfolio and living off one are two completely different skills, and almost ***** ody teaches the second. This problem is what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps, and it is free today. Read more here. (Sponsor)
The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.31% as of October 5, 2026, the high of the past month. Any dividend stock has to clear that bar. The five names below try to clear it with cash flow that comes from contracts: decades-long triple-net leases, monthly wireless and fiber bills, and fee-based pipeline volumes. Dividend safety comes first in each entry. A big yield only counts when the payout is covered, the balance sheet can carry it, and the dividend record shows how management acts under pressure.
VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) offers a forward dividend of $1.84 annualized. At a share price of $22.62, that works out to a very high yield of 8.13%. Most of that yield comes from the share price. The stock is down 24.93% over the past year, 15.28% year to date and 9.32% in the past month alone. Over the same stretch, the dividend rose only slightly. Investors have been marking the stock down on concerns about a shifting gaming landscape and softer Las Vegas travel .

#past #comes

Raven-Symoné has regrets about having breast reduction surgery as a teen.
The "That's So Raven" star, 40, has previously opened up about undergoing the procedure after feeling pressure from adults around her.
"I should have done it after ******* rty," she said in a recent episode of the "Allure Perspectives" podcast. "I mean, they still look good, but it was hastily done."
The "Cheetah Girls" actress said she believes she was "too young." She added that she did not mind having larger ******* , quipping, "Oh girl, I got into anything! I was first in line."
"Push these little babies up, they get you anywhere," she told podcast host Jessica Cruel. "These triple Ds were popping."

#symon #allure #girls #jessica

Ciara just turned a fashion occasion into a triple feature.
The singer made a surprise appearance at Junya Watanabe's Spring 2027 ready-to-wear show in Paris on Saturday (Oct. 3), taking the runway not once, not twice, but three times — all while proudly showing off her baby ****** p.
More from Billboard
Here's What Kim Kardashian Said About Co-Parenting With Ye Amid North's Budding Music Career
University of Oklahoma to Name New Student-Athlete Center for Toby Keith

#junya #Paris #parenting #budding

Chris, Matt, and Nick Sturniolo celebrated their PEOPLE's ******* iest Man Alive Readers' Choice nomination in a playful video
The brothers face Jackson Olson, Jack Innamen and Sammy Batchelder in the ******* iest TikTok star category
Fans can vote through Oct. 12 before the winners are revealed Oct. 20
The Sturniolo triplets are feeling thankful — and having a ******* y off to prove it.
The brothers were nominated for ******* iest TikTok Star in this year's PEOPLE ******* iest Man Alive Readers' Choice Poll and showed their gratitude by flexing their looks in a hilarious Instagram Reel on Oct. 2.

#sexiest #alive #readers #star

On September 9, 2026, Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) reported fiscal second-quarter net sales of $3.33 billion, up 7.3% year over year, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.36, nearly double the roughly $0.18 ******* ysts had expected, prompting the company to raise its full-year revenue and profitability outlook. CEO Sumit Singh said the broader pet market did not meaningfully recover during the quarter but also did not deteriorate further, with Chewy continuing to outperform the category by two to three times through share gains across its established and newer businesses.
Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)'s recurring revenue base is solid. It gives the company greater visibility into future sales. Autoship sales jumped by 9.3% year over year to $2.82 billion and represented 84.6% of total net sales. The growing contribution from subscription-based purchases gives Chewy a more predictable revenue stream and reduces its exposure to fluctuations in discretionary pet spending.
Chewy is also building growth engines beyond its core retail business. Chewy Health, which includes veterinary care and pharmacy services, delivered triple-digit revenue growth. Specialty categories such as equine and exotics recorded a seventh consecutive quarter of mid-double-digit growth. These businesses give Chewy additional opportunities to increase customer spending and diversify its sources of revenue as the overall pet market matures.
Chewy is combining customer growth with stronger profitability and shareholder returns. The firm added 208,000 net active customers during the quarter. It takes its customer base to 21.7 million while returning $200 million to shareholders through share repurchases. Management also noted structural SG&A leverage, automation, and AI-driven cost reductions as contributors to margin expansion. It shows that Chewy can improve earnings while investing in customer acquisition and growth.
Part of Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)'s profitability improvement came from benefits that may not recur. CFO Chris Deppe said the quarter's profitability upside included about $10 million from timing benefits and more than $5 million from discrete benefits. Those items boosted the latest results but do not provide a recurring earnings contribution. It means investors may need to lower their expectations for the pace of margin expansion in future quarters.

#customer

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has constructed an artificial intelligence (AI) empire over the past few years. The company sells the world's most powerful AI chips, known as graphics processing units (GPUs), and an entire portfolio of related tools that are generating triple-digit growth and record levels of revenue.
Investors have piled into Nvidia stock to gain access to this incredible growth story, and so far, they've scored a major win. The stock has soared about 800% over the past five years. But, in recent times, investors have worried about one particular challenge: competition. Though Nvidia remains in the lead, a number of companies also sell AI chips -- and these products are becoming more powerful with each update.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our ***** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
These players include chip companies like Advanced Micro Devices as well as broader tech giants like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). All of this has prompted some investors to pause before getting in on Nvidia stock at this stage of the AI story. Nvidia stock has climbed about 14% this year, which isn't a big leap for this stock.
Just recently, however, some bright news emerged during Amazon's earning call. In fact, these 15 words from Amazon chief Andy Jassy may eliminate Nvidia's biggest risk.

#chips

BuyWander says it plan to use the fresh capital to drive its expansion throughout the US, support technological upgrades, and bolster its executive team.
The investment was headed by Madrona Venture Group and Inspired Capital. Past supporters of the company include Triple Impact Capital, Silence Ventures, Animal Capital, as well as several angel investors.
The business currently has eight locations and has lately entered the Denver and Chicago markets, with a new warehouse site scheduled to open soon in Minneapolis.
BuyWander co-founder and CEO Jordan Allen said: "Retailers are sitting on billions of dollars in returned and overstocked inventory every year, and buyers are hungry for a better way to access it. We've seen that appetite play out in every market we've entered. This funding lets us bring that experience to more cities, faster, and put BuyWander in front of the next wave of buyers who are done with the old returns model."
Founded in 2023 by Jordan Allen and Brock Kowalchuk, BuyWander is an auction-based marketplace that links buyers with returned and surplus goods from retailers such as Amazon, Target and Walmart.

#capital #buyers #allen

On August 18, Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) reported second-quarter results that beat its own guidance and then raised the bar for the rest of the year. Revenue climbed 32% to $1.63 billion, adjusted operating profit nearly tripled, and every region and segment posted double-digit growth. Diluted earnings per share reached $0.18, up from a much smaller figure a year earlier. What stands out about August 18 is not just the size of the beat but how broad it was.
Technical Apparel grew 32% to $674 million, led by Arc'teryx and backed by a 17% omni-comp gain across owned stores and e-commerce. Outdoor Performance grew even faster, up 37% to $569 million, driven by Salomon Softgoods. Ball & Racquet Sports rose 24% to $390 million on the strength of Wilson Tennis 360. CEO James Zheng pointed to strong double-digit growth across every segment, geography, and channel as the reason for confidence in the outlook.
That confidence showed up in the numbers: Amer Sports raised full-year 2026 guidance to roughly 24% reported revenue growth, a gross margin of 60.5% to 61.0%, an operating margin of 14.2% to 14.5%, and diluted EPS of $1.27 to $1.30. The balance sheet backs up the reinvestment CFO Andrew Page described, with $573 million in net cash and $720 million in cash and equivalents at quarter-end.
Some of the second quarter's biggest numbers lean on a one-time tailwind. Gross margin expanded 710 basis points to 65.6%, but 390 of those points came from net tariff refunds. Operating margin's 820 basis point jump included the same 390-point benefit. The effect is largest in Ball & Racquet Sports, where adjusted segment operating margin rose 1,300 basis points to 17.2%, yet 970 of those points came from tariff refunds alone. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 30% to $909 million, and on an adjusted basis SG&A grew 33%, faster than revenue itself.
Inventories climbed 19% year over year to $1,897 million. The guidance for the next quarter also points to a slower pace: third quarter revenue growth is guided at 18% to 20%, well below the 32% just reported, with gross margin guided down to about 59.0% and net finance cost alone guided to $15 million to $20 million, against roughly $85 million for the entire year.

#revenue #basis

Micron (NASDAQ: MU) and Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) have been two of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) so far this year. Sandisk is leading the way with an incredible 550% gain. Micron is in fourth place, up by over 220%. That means both of these stocks have tripled (or more than tripled in Sandisk's case), but I think that's just the beginning. In fact, if you invested $2,500 in each of these stocks, for a total of $5,000, I think that the combined value of those stakes will rise to $15,000 by the time 2028 arrives.
While that may sound far-fetched, the math backs it up, suggesting that these are two of the best investments you could make in the stock market right now.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
The reason these two have done so well in 2026 is that there is no spare memory chip production capacity left. Micron and Sandisk are two of just three big players in this industry, and all of their production is being eaten up by massive demand for additional artificial intelligence computing power. AI processors and servers need heavy volumes of memory to function efficiently, and as a result, there's now a serious shortage of memory, so prices are skyrocketing.
This supply-and-demand imbalance is the culprit behind rising prices for consumer computing hardware, as these devices all require memory chips, too.

#NVIDIA #memory #flashing #best

Five covered-call ETFs yield 8% to 14% monthly by writing options against large-cap U.S. equity portfolios, putting them at double to triple the 10-year Treasury rate near 5%.
Nasdaq-100 funds post higher yields than S&P 500 funds because greater implied volatility generates fatter option premiums, but they cap upside during rallies.
QQQI delivers the group's top 14% yield with roughly 99% of 2025 distributions classified as return of capital, deferring taxes rather than creating current income.
Read More: Learn 7 secret wealth tips high net worth investors use that most investors miss (sponsor)
Income investors heading into the fourth quarter face a market where the 10-year Treasury yield is near 5%, yet a cluster of options-income ETFs still pays roughly double to triple that rate every month. The five funds on this list — JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (NYSEARCA:JEPI), Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (NYSEARCA:XYLD), Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ:GPIQ), NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF (NYSEARCA:SPYI), and NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (NASDAQ:QQQI), all sit in an 8% to 14% trailing yield band while distributing cash monthly.

#NASDAQ #high #etfs #treasury

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) is increasingly confident it can reach a $100 billion annual revenue run rate by year-end. The company's CFO said there is now "even more conviction" around the target. A new AI hosting agreement worth $13 billion on an annualized basis adds significant support to that outlook and reflects how quickly ***** eX's compute business is scaling. But the financial picture behind that growth is less straightforward. The same AI division that management is relying on to help reach that target posted a $1.3 billion loss in the latest quarter alone. The loss wiped out what would have otherwise been a profitable quarter, while the company generated roughly negative $25 billion in free cash flow during the first half of 2026.
CFO Bret Johnsen said ***** eX has "even more conviction" that it can reach a $100 billion annual revenue run rate. The outlook is supported by a newly signed AI hosting agreement worth $1.11 billion per month beginning in December, or roughly $13 billion on an annualized basis. The company plans to end the year with a little over 2 gigawatts of terrestrial AI-computing capacity and scale to between 5 and 10 gigawatts in 2027. Orbital computing remains a longer-term option for overcoming power constraints. Its current agreements include a $6.7 billion cloud-services contract that is scheduled to ramp up in October. Existing arrangements with Google and Anthropic are worth more than $2 billion per month combined. Reaching the $100 billion target would require monthly revenue to more than triple from second-quarter's pace.
SpaceX's rocket and Starlink businesses generated roughly $1.1 billion in combined operating income in the second quarter. But the AI division's $1.3 billion loss more than wiped out that profit. The company also generated roughly negative $25 billion in free cash flow during the first half of 2026. The stock declined more than 5% after the second-quarter results despite a revenue beat.
The AI contract pipeline is clearly expanding and gaining momentum. However, the $100 billion target is a revenue run-rate measure rather than a profitability target. At the same time, the division driving this expansion remains the company's largest contributor to both both operating losses and capital spending, making the growth opportunity financially costly for now.
SpaceX had 119 hedge funds among its institutional holders at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Meanwhile, short interest stood at just 2.76% of float as of August 31, 2026. The ownership and the short interest figures show that institutional sentiment remains broadly constructive and toward the company's long-term outlook.

#roughly

On September 15, CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) announced it had closed on a $400 million skilled nursing portfolio in the Southwest, effective September 1, and unveiled a reloaded $600 million investment pipeline behind it. The deal covers 2,622 licensed beds triple net leased back to the existing operator, sourced off-market and structured through a joint venture that put roughly $380 million of CareTrust's own capital to work. It is the latest entry in a buying spree that has now pushed the company's 2026 investment total past $1.9 billion.
The new portfolio is expected to generate a stabilized yield of about 8.6%, in line with the 8.7% blended yield CareTrust has posted across two dozen deals closed so far in 2026. That consistency matters more than any single transaction. The company has now closed roughly $710 million in investments in the third quarter alone, including a small UK care home purchase in mid-August, on top of the $899.6 million it closed in the second quarter at an 8.9% yield.
Management says the $600 million pipeline of near-term, actionable deals, about half of it aimed at the senior housing operating portfolio, does not even include a set of larger transactions still being pursued, so the deal flow may not be finished. The balance sheet backs up that ambition. CareTrust ended the second quarter, on June 30, 2026, with net debt to annualized normalized EBITDA of just 1.01x, and as of the September announcement it still had $725 million available under its revolver plus $612 million of remaining ATM capacity. That combination let the company raise its full year 2026 guidance on August 6 to normalized FFO of $2.03 to $2.06 per share, an increase of 16.2% at the midpoint over 2025, even before this latest acquisition was on the books.
This growth has come with a real cost to existing shareholders. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding rose from about 192.9 million in the second quarter of 2025 to 234.2 million a year later, as CareTrust leaned on forward equity offerings and its ATM program to fund the buying spree. The company still had $439 million of expected net proceeds sitting in unsettled forward equity contracts as of September 15, meaning more shares are still coming.
The second quarter also carried a $4.7 million provision for loan losses, a line that did not appear in the prior year period and is worth watching as the loan and financing receivable book grows alongside the property portfolio. Interest expense rose to $15.3 million in the quarter from $13.0 million a year earlier, and 2026 guidance leans on rent escalators of just 2.5% a year, a modest built-in growth rate once the acquisition pace eventually slows. The company's own risk disclosures flag reliance on tenants to keep meeting their lease obligations, along with exposure to healthcare reform, staffing requirements, and currency swings tied to its UK operations.

#still

On August 4, Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) reported second-quarter results that erased two consecutive quarterly losses in a single swing. Net income landed at $260 million, or $2.01 per share, compared with a $169 million loss just three months earlier and a $142 million loss a year ago. EBITDA nearly tripled from the second quarter of 2025. The numbers mark a sharp reversal for a company whose chemicals business had been bleeding red ink.
The turnaround centers on Performance and Essential Materials, the segment that makes chlorovinyls and other basic chemicals. PEM swung from a $318 million operating loss in the second quarter of 2025 to $185 million in income this quarter, while EBITDA excluding identified items jumped from a 3% margin to 21%. The driver was pricing: average sales prices across PEM rose 14% year over year, more than offsetting a 3% price decline in the Housing and Infrastructure Products segment. Combined with a 7% increase in companywide sales volume, excluding the effects of plant shutdowns and an acquisition, the pricing recovery pushed companywide EBITDA to $679 million from $210 million a year earlier.
Westlake is also working the balance sheet alongside the market recovery. The company reduced debt by $500 million during the quarter and returned $99 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Management says its three-pillar profitability improvement plan remains on track to deliver a $600 million operating income benefit, a target that, if it holds, would layer structural cost savings on top of whatever the market gives back in pricing.
Not every part of the story improved together. Housing and Infrastructure Products, the segment tied to home construction and building products, saw its EBITDA margin slip to 22% from 24% a year earlier, even as volume rose 6% excluding the ACI acquisition. Average sales prices in that segment fell 3% year over year, a sign that pricing power in housing products has softened even as the company sells more of it.
The improvement in the core chemicals business also leans heavily on price rather than volume. PEM's turnaround came from a 14% jump in average sales price, a figure that can move in either direction with commodity cycles. The first quarter of 2026 was a reminder of how quickly conditions shift: Westlake posted a $169 million net loss just three months before this result, weighed down by $85 million in identified items, including a $67 million charge to settle litigation over PVC pipe and fittings and $18 million tied to facility shutdowns. A year earlier, in the second quarter of 2025, the company absorbed another $130 million in shutdown-related charges. Restructuring and legal charges showed up in two of the last three reported quarters.

#million #year #quarter #loss

AMD stock surged 127% YTD after Data Center revenue doubled to $6.7B, yet 24/7 Wall St. rates it HOLD at $481 on stretched valuation.
Nvidia trades at a P/E of 44 despite $89B in Data Center revenue, making AMD's triple-digit multiple look dangerously extended by comparison.
Lisa Su sees a $1.4 trillion AI accelerator market by 2030, with Helios delivering 30% more tokens per dollar than rivals.
Read More: Avoid these 13 retirement mistakes before they derail your future (sponsor)
Our AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) call is one of the tougher ones we've made this quarter. The stock has done what few thought possible, doubling in months on the back of an AI accelerator story that is finally landing with hyperscalers.

#revenue #hold #NVIDIA

On September 15, CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) announced it had closed on a $400 million skilled nursing portfolio in the Southwest, effective September 1, and unveiled a reloaded $600 million investment pipeline behind it. The deal covers 2,622 licensed beds triple net leased back to the existing operator, sourced off-market and structured through a joint venture that put roughly $380 million of CareTrust's own capital to work. It is the latest entry in a buying spree that has now pushed the company's 2026 investment total past $1.9 billion.
The new portfolio is expected to generate a stabilized yield of about 8.6%, in line with the 8.7% blended yield CareTrust has posted across two dozen deals closed so far in 2026. That consistency matters more than any single transaction. The company has now closed roughly $710 million in investments in the third quarter alone, including a small UK care home purchase in mid-August, on top of the $899.6 million it closed in the second quarter at an 8.9% yield.
Management says the $600 million pipeline of near-term, actionable deals, about half of it aimed at the senior housing operating portfolio, does not even include a set of larger transactions still being pursued, so the deal flow may not be finished. The balance sheet backs up that ambition. CareTrust ended the second quarter, on June 30, 2026, with net debt to annualized normalized EBITDA of just 1.01x, and as of the September announcement it still had $725 million available under its revolver plus $612 million of remaining ATM capacity. That combination let the company raise its full year 2026 guidance on August 6 to normalized FFO of $2.03 to $2.06 per share, an increase of 16.2% at the midpoint over 2025, even before this latest acquisition was on the books.
This growth has come with a real cost to existing shareholders. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding rose from about 192.9 million in the second quarter of 2025 to 234.2 million a year later, as CareTrust leaned on forward equity offerings and its ATM program to fund the buying spree. The company still had $439 million of expected net proceeds sitting in unsettled forward equity contracts as of September 15, meaning more shares are still coming.
The second quarter also carried a $4.7 million provision for loan losses, a line that did not appear in the prior year period and is worth watching as the loan and financing receivable book grows alongside the property portfolio. Interest expense rose to $15.3 million in the quarter from $13.0 million a year earlier, and 2026 guidance leans on rent escalators of just 2.5% a year, a modest built-in growth rate once the acquisition pace eventually slows. The company's own risk disclosures flag reliance on tenants to keep meeting their lease obligations, along with exposure to healthcare reform, staffing requirements, and currency swings tied to its UK operations.

#closed

On August 4, Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) reported second-quarter results that erased two consecutive quarterly losses in a single swing. Net income landed at $260 million, or $2.01 per share, compared with a $169 million loss just three months earlier and a $142 million loss a year ago. EBITDA nearly tripled from the second quarter of 2025. The numbers mark a sharp reversal for a company whose chemicals business had been bleeding red ink.
The turnaround centers on Performance and Essential Materials, the segment that makes chlorovinyls and other basic chemicals. PEM swung from a $318 million operating loss in the second quarter of 2025 to $185 million in income this quarter, while EBITDA excluding identified items jumped from a 3% margin to 21%. The driver was pricing: average sales prices across PEM rose 14% year over year, more than offsetting a 3% price decline in the Housing and Infrastructure Products segment. Combined with a 7% increase in companywide sales volume, excluding the effects of plant shutdowns and an acquisition, the pricing recovery pushed companywide EBITDA to $679 million from $210 million a year earlier.
Westlake is also working the balance sheet alongside the market recovery. The company reduced debt by $500 million during the quarter and returned $99 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Management says its three-pillar profitability improvement plan remains on track to deliver a $600 million operating income benefit, a target that, if it holds, would layer structural cost savings on top of whatever the market gives back in pricing.
Not every part of the story improved together. Housing and Infrastructure Products, the segment tied to home construction and building products, saw its EBITDA margin slip to 22% from 24% a year earlier, even as volume rose 6% excluding the ACI acquisition. Average sales prices in that segment fell 3% year over year, a sign that pricing power in housing products has softened even as the company sells more of it.
The improvement in the core chemicals business also leans heavily on price rather than volume. PEM's turnaround came from a 14% jump in average sales price, a figure that can move in either direction with commodity cycles. The first quarter of 2026 was a reminder of how quickly conditions shift: Westlake posted a $169 million net loss just three months before this result, weighed down by $85 million in identified items, including a $67 million charge to settle litigation over PVC pipe and fittings and $18 million tied to facility shutdowns. A year earlier, in the second quarter of 2025, the company absorbed another $130 million in shutdown-related charges. Restructuring and legal charges showed up in two of the last three reported quarters.

#million #quarter #westlake #earlier

The heavyweight division will have to move on without Tom Aspinall for now. The Englishman recently announced that he is vacating the 265lbs **** le after another incident caused further damage to his right eye. Aspinall has been sidelined for nearly a year after suffering a double eye poke at the hands of Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
He was diagnosed with the rare bilateral traumatic Brown's syndrome and has since undergone triple eye surgery. Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Aspinall needed more time for additional tests before he could be considered 100% healthy. However, the prolonged recovery timeline became increasingly frustrating.
The former champion took to Instagram and penned a lengthy post explaining the circumstances behind his decision. Shortly after, Josh Hokit seized the opportunity to stake his claim to the now-vacant **** le.
The 10-0 heavyweight had recently rejected Alex Pereira's call for a rematch with Gane, who currently holds the interim **** le. Instead, Hokit pitched two blockbuster headliners for UFC 334 later this year, with himself facing Gane for the heavyweight gold and Pereira taking on Sergei Pavlovich.
Now that Aspinall has vacated the belt, Gane is seemingly expected to be upgraded to undisputed champion. However, staying true to his original plan, Hokit has doubled down on facing the Frenchman for the championship next.

#aspinall #heavyweight #year

Dodgers news: Edgardo Henriquez placed on regular season-ending IL appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-hander Edgardo Henriquez on the 15-day injured list Monday with low back discomfort, ending his 2026 regular season. Los Angeles recalled Bobby Miller from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding roster move.
Henriquez had developed into a regular bullpen option during his first full major league season, making 61 appearances. MLB.com's Sonja Chen took to X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the club announced the transaction and noted the calendar implications of Henriquez's IL placement.
"Henriquez going on the 15-day IL ends his regular season."
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#Dodgers #placed

The 2026 home campaign for the Salt Lake Bees (24-44/63-79) came to a close this week as they welcomed the Round Rock Express (Triple-A, Texas Rangers). Known as the "E-Train," the Lone Star side steamrolled their way to a dominant series victory, winning five of six. Outside of a 11-1 thrashing on Thursday, the Bees never held a lead in the other five contests. The Express (38-31/69-75) collected their first road series win in Salt Lake since 2021, when they swept the Bees in a six-game set.
Despite a quality start from Bees starter Ryan Costeiu, Round Rock earned a 5-1 series opening victory on Tuesday. The visitors scored in four different frames, while Niko Kavadas helped Salt Lake avoid a shutout with a fifth-inning solo blast. Wednesday was more of the same, as the Express tallied a 6-1 victory. MLB rehabber Josh Jung punctuated the win with a solo blast in the eighth, as the Bees were held to just a trio of hits for the second straight game.
As mentioned above, the Salt Lake bats came alive on Thursday with an 11-1 rout. The team tied their season-high with four homers, spotlighted by Kavadas' second multi-homer night of the campaign. The infielder's surge was part of a four-hit night, his first at any level since 2022. On the mound, Joel Hurtado turned in 6.2 innings of one-run ball, finally collecting his first Triple-A win in his eighth try. After falling behind 5-0 on Friday, the Bees nearly completed a comeback, coming up just short in a 5-4 defeat. Salt Lake got the winning run on base in the ninth, but ultimately fell short.
The final Saturday and Sunday at home in 2026 were near carbon copies of each other. Big first innings for Round Rock put them in the driver's seat, leading 6-0 and 4-0, respectively. Saturday's output was more than enough for the visitors as they added seven more runs over the course of the game to shutout the Bees 13-0. On Sunday's home finale, Salt Lake battled and answered every time the Express scored. They closed the gap to 6-4 before Round Rock gained some length with Aaron Zavala's two-run blast in the sixth, the only longball of the evening. The Bees did not go down without a fight, bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth. A flyball was tracked down for the 27th and final out of the finale, completing the Express' 9-6 victory.
The 74th and final home game saw 7,853 fans come through the turnstiles of The Ballpark at America First Square — the largest crowd in ballpark history. Salt Lake finished 35-39 at home this season, winning or splitting nine of their 13 total home series. The Bees were victorious in at least one game against every opponent who came to South Jordan, avoiding a sweep for the second straight season as the hosts.

#lake #express

On September 10, 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) reported fiscal 2026 results that read like a company still finding its footing after a hard year. Full year revenue fell 10.8% to $1.5 billion, and the fourth quarter alone dropped 12.9% to $293.1 million, as consumers stayed selective with discretionary spending on gifts and gourmet food. Buried under those declines, though, is a different story: inventory shrank, free cash flow improved by $55 million, and the company hit a two-year cost savings target a full year early. The question now is whether that discipline can outrun the sales slide.
1-800-Flowers spent fiscal 2026 tearing down the walls between its brands. Instead of separate teams running each brand in silos, the company shifted to functional teams built around marketing, merchandising, and the digital shopping experience, with one team now acting as store manager for every website. That shift already shows up in products: the floral business combined its florist-fulfilled and direct-ship merchandising teams, so the same popular arrangements are available either way, instead of competing against itself on one landing page. Harry & David rolled out a redesigned, mobile-first website with AI-powered search that is currently in A/B testing, and several low-traffic standalone sites were folded into harryanddavid.com to concentrate traffic rather than split it.
The financial discipline behind that reorganization is real. The company reached its $50 million cost savings run rate a full year ahead of schedule and has already lined up another $15 million to $20 million in savings for fiscal 2027, with the full benefit landing in fiscal 2028. That, combined with tighter working capital management, pushed free cash flow up $55 million year over year and cut inventory to $153 million from $177 million. Average order value rose 5.5%, third-party marketplace sales through Amazon, Walmart, and DoorDash are growing at double-to-triple-digit rates and are already contribution margin positive, and BloomNet grew 1.9% on the back of local delivery partnerships with apps like DoorDash and Instacart.
The rest of the story is bleaker. Total transactions fell 17.6% for the year, and the fourth quarter's decline was broad-based: consumer floral and gifts dropped 13.4% to $182.8 million as the company pulled back on promotional discounting, and gourmet foods and gift baskets fell 15.4% to $85.8 million, a decline made worse by the timing of Easter. Adjusted EBITDA for the year collapsed to $2.9 million from $29.2 million, and adjusted gross margin slipped 110 basis points to 38%. Even the fourth quarter's 34.7% gross margin leaned on a one-time $7 million tariff refund.

#fiscal

On September 10, Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN) reported a first half of 2026 that reads like a fantasy year for a decades-old tanker operator. Net income hit $228 million, more than triple what the company earned over the same six months a year earlier, while diluted EPS climbed to $7.12 from $1.70. Behind those numbers sits a rare combination: a fleet locked into billions in forward earnings, war-driven cargo detours pushing rates higher, and a newbuilding bet that has already paid off before half the ships have even hit the water.
The earnings power came from two directions at once. The average time charter equivalent rate rose 41% to $43,503 a day in the first half, and profit-sharing contracts on nine large vessels brought in $71 million, up from just $10 million a year earlier. Even with six vessels pulled from service for scheduled dry docks, the fleet still ran at 96.5% utilization. Second-quarter results followed the same pattern, with net income of $139.3 million, which included a $38 million gain on ******* et sales, and earnings per share of $4.40 against $0.67 in last year's second quarter.
Tsakos is also sitting on a fleet renewal bet that already worked out. Since the start of 2023, the company has sold 20 tankers averaging 17.3 years old and replaced them with 35 vessels averaging just half a year old. Its 26-ship newbuilding program, contracted for about $3.1 billion, is now valued roughly 30% above that cost, and CEO Nikolas Tsakos said the VLCCs in that order book have nearly doubled in price since they were placed. With $466 million in cash and forward committed earnings of roughly $3.5 billion, management has room to raise its dividend, which already paid out $1.60 per share this year, and is weighing whether to redeem $120 million of 9.25% preferred shares, a move it estimates could add $0.30 to $0.40 to EPS.
That performance came against a backdrop the company would rather not have. President George Saroglou said vessels have been attacked, and seafarers hurt or killed trying to keep global trade moving through the Strait of Hormuz, where a ceasefire unraveled roughly halfway through its planned 60-day run and a US naval presence now tries to manage safe passage. Tsakos has chosen to route around the strait entirely rather than put crews through the toll those attacks take.
The cost side is climbing too. Bunker prices jumped about 25%, pushing first-half voyage expenses to $82 million from $68 million, and operating expenses rose to $111 million from $102 million on higher dry-docking costs and inflation. Total debt reached $2.1 billion at the end of June, up from $1.8 billion a year earlier, as the company finances its newbuilding program. And while profit-sharing revenue jumped, the operating days tied to those market-related contracts actually fell 22%, meaning a smaller slice of the fleet is left exposed to capture further spot-rate gains if the tanker market keeps running hot.

#billion

It was a nail biter, but the San Diego Padres came away from it with a seven-game win streak and back-to-back sweeps for the third time this season. It was a great game to cap off the sweep. Ethan Salas finally notched his first big-league hit with a triple in Oracle Park, Fernando Tatis Jr. went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Manny Machado launched his 27th home run of the season.
The Friars will now turn to the Colorado Rockies to round out their penultimate road trip of the 2026 season. It's a four-game set in the hitter-friendly environs of Coors Field. With the way the Padres have been swinging their bats lately (37 runs in their last six games; 6.2 runs per game), they should have no problem keeping the good vibes rolling.
Sugano has been surprisingly good in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. That said, he's still pitched to a 5.30 ERA. But that number goes down to 4.96 at home compared to 5.64 away. It's an interesting split to have when Colorado is known for being a hitter's dream.
The righty has been particularly awful recently. In his last seven starts, Sugano has pitched to a 7.71 ERA across 35 innings pitched. In his last three starts, he's surrendered a whopping 14 runs (16.0 IP). If San Diego's recently potent lineup can take advantage of that, they would be well on their way to their eighth straight win.
Since joining the Padres, it's no secret that Mize has struggled. He's posted a dismal 6.34 ERA in his first seven games. Much of that is believed to be due to a groin injury that Mize has been pitching through. It was reported earlier this week that that injury was the reason many scouts decided against Mize, lowering his trade stock.

#game #runs #last #Colorado

"WWE Raw" is in Mexico City at Arena CDMX this Monday, Sept. 14, following AAA TripleMania weekend. After winning his way through WWE's No. 1 contender luchador tournament, Penta finally gets his shot at the World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns in a true spectacle match for the promotion's weekly programming.
Reigns has been embroiled in matters between Solo Sikoa and LA Knight as of late, but his next challenger is former the Intercontinental Champion. South American wrestling fans have already been treated to plenty of excitement over the past week, as WWE delivered a surprise ******* le change when Stephanie Vaquer dethroned Women's World Champion Liv Morgan in her home of Chile. Penta will look to do the same tonight.
Speaking of Intercontinental Champions, the man who dethroned Penta, Chad Gable, will defend his crown tonight against Dragon Lee. Gable has consistently shown respect for luchadors since returning from his run as El Grande Americano. Considering the chemistry he's had with all involved, this match is sure to deliver.
More Money In the Bank qualifier matches are also set to take place on "Raw." On the men's side, Je'Von Evans and Big Cass go at it once again, this time with World Tag Team Champion Austin Theory in the mix. The women's match will feature the debuting Lola Vice, as she battles fellow former NXT star Kelani Jordan and the current Women's Intercontinental Champion Raquel Rodriguez.
Check out the full "WWE Raw" lineup below, which starts at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix:

#penta #intercontinental #match #gable

It's always tough navigating that first injury report coming out of preseason and training camp. Some injuries are downplayed and others weren't as serious as initially thought. We also get some surprises (we're looking at you Raiders and Brock Bowers).
But we've gotten through most of the action for Week 1 and can lookahead to which injuries we'll need to track going into the second slate of the season. Below is all the latest news and updates, plus some fantasy football ******* ysis to help with weekly lineup tinkering.
Kyler Murray, MIN (concussion)
Sam Darnold, SEA (hip)
Murray: It was a tough Minnesota debut for Murray, exiting early in the contest after a questionable hit from Packers S Javon Bullard. Prior to the hit, Murray had thrown an egregious interception into triple coverage. Murray did not return, finishing the game 3-for-5 for 18 yards and the INT, plus two carries for nine yards.

#bowers

I've used the word "penultimate" seemingly endless times in the last month or so, so here's one more. The WooSox capped off their finale in Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA), finishing the PENULTIMATE series of 2026 in dramatic fashion despite outplaying the IronPigs for most of the game. Gage Ziehl had a gritty if not spectacular performance, pitching into the sixth and coming back from being taken yard in the fourth without his confidence shaken. All told, the 23-year-old righty struck out eight to bring his total to 126 in 116 innings pitched (96/85, respectively, of those being in Portland) and is really shaping up into someone to watch in 2027. The pitching staff as a whole issued zero walks despite being taken for nine hits, but the game never looked out of control save for when Noah Song came in to let two runs up in the sixth.
Luckily, though, the WooSox offense had a home run derby, sending five over the fence, including two from Allan Castro. That second one hoisted the WooSox from a deficit to a lead that Sam McWilliams wouldn't give up. Arias also hit his 24th home run of the season (and his 5th in Triple-A.)
Rain cancelled the last game of the season against Binghamton (Mets AA) in an anticlimactic fashion. But what a season it was for the Sea Dogs.
The season began with interested eyes watching Franklin Arias become an absolute hitting machine in the spring, along with Anthony Eyannson dealing, only for the former to be promoted to Triple-A and the latter dealt to Baltimore (or rather, Chesapeake) in the Adley Rutschman deal. Still, Brooks Brannon raked, the team had 8 walk-off wins and generally found ways to come up on top. The pitching staff headed by Hayden Mullins, in his own right a guy to watch, pitched a combined no hitter in April (but not a shutout). And Justin Gonzales looks formidable as an everyday outfielder a few years in the future. Overall, the cupboard is not as fully stocked as some teams, but there's some players to feel good about starting to make their mark in the mid-levels of the farm.

#pitching