Sponsor-backed direct lending volume and deal count ticked up in the three months ended Aug. 31, recovering from the lows seen in Q2 but remaining below Q1 levels, according to new LCD data.
Direct lenders provided an estimated $28 billion across 124 sponsor-backed deals over the past three months, up from $23 billion across 101 deals in Q2, though still short of Q1's $45 billion across 133 deals, according to the latest US LCD Private Credit Monitor.
On a year-to-date basis, sponsor-backed direct lending volume of $87 billion across 322 deals through August runs 27% behind last year's $120 billion (from 356 deals) over the same period, signaling that sponsors remain cautious even as quarterly activity firms up.
Buyout financing has followed a similar path. Direct lenders backed 50 LBOs for roughly $14 billion over the three months through August, an improvement on Q2's 47 deals and $13 billion but still well below Q1's 56 deals and $23 billion. Year-to-date, direct lending buyout volume of $44 billion across 135 deals trails the $57 billion and 154 deals at the same time last year, suggesting sponsors are still hesitant to launch new platform deals amid the higher-for-longer rate backdrop.
Healthcare sector deals accounted for 20% of new-issue direct lending deals in 2026 year-to-date, versus 18% in full-year 2025. Technology's share of new direct lending deals has fallen to 16% YTD, from 18% for FY 2025, representing the largest drop of any sector over the period. Utilities and building materials both saw large increases, though both sectors sit on small relative bases.

#billion #lending #three

Data centers will need a lot more electricity. That's the takeaway from Goldman Sachs research published Sept. 1, 2026, which estimates U.S. data center power demand could approach 108 gigawatts by 2030.
That surge creates opportunities not only for utilities that deliver power to the grid, like American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP), but also for companies that manage power and heat inside the data center, like Vertiv (NYSE: VRT). Here's how these industrials stocks can help you profit from the artificial intelligence (AI) power boom.
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 »
American Electric Power is one of the country's leading utilities, serving millions of customers across 11 states. It also operates the largest transmission network, which puts it in a prime spot to capture rising demand from data centers for more high-voltage lines and additional power supply.
AEP now has 69 gigawatts of contracted load additions through 2030, up from 63 gigawatts disclosed in the first quarter. That increase highlights growing customer commitments and supports the case that data center demand is durable.

#power #flashing

An independent energy development company and a long-time manufacturer of wood products have signed an agreement to develop geothermal projects in Washington and Oregon.Hexagon Energy and Weyerhaeuser Co. on September 10 said they have closed a deal covering that could provide an estimated 3 GW of geothermal power generation capacity in the Pacific Northwest. The land is part of Weyerhaeuser's portfolio of holdings. The company is one of the largest private owners of timberland in North America."Geothermal energy represents an emerging opportunity to provide clean and reliable, around-the-clock power, and our ownership presents a unique platform to evaluate that potential in the Pacific Northwest," said Kendall Fountain, vice president of Energy and Natural Resources for Weyerhaeuser. "This agreement supports the continued growth of our Climate Solutions business while aligning with our commitment to responsible land stewardship, sustainability and long-term value creation."
Hexagon Energy under the agreement will develop geothermal projects on Weyerhaeuser's landholdings in the two states. Hexagon said it has leased geothermal rights on about 145,000 acres across Washington and Oregon."We are excited to partner with Weyerhaeuser to develop this significant geothermal resource and bring abundant, clean, baseload energy to the Pacific Northwest." said Matthew Hantzmon, CEO of Hexagon Energy. "Our team is grateful that Weyerhaeuser entrusted us to unlock this valuable ***** et for them."
Read more about Hexagon Energy's work in this feature article in POWER, "Meet the Tools Helping Power Companies Separate Threats from Noise". To learn more about geothermal projects and trends worldwide, check out this geothermal article archive at powermag.com.
The companies on Thursday noted that their collaboration is concurrent with a rise in demand for geothermal energy, as part of an industry-wide push for more baseload, carbon-free power during a period of an increased need for electricity. Demand from artificial intelligence and data centers, among other power users, has driven a rise in projects utilizing both renewable and thermal energy.Hexagon Energy, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, develops utility-scale wind, solar, standalone storage, and geothermal energy project across the U.S. The company has said its work covers the full spectrum of development and finance, including market ***** ysis, environmental diligence, site control, transmission ***** ysis, community engagement, state and local permitting, engineering, and financial modeling. Hexagon has developed and financed more than 3 GW of power generation capacity for U.S. electric utilities, representing more than $4.5 billion in investment. The company's current pipeline includes more than 10 GW of power under active development.Weyerhaeuser Co., based in Seattle, Washington, is among the world's largest private owners of timberlands. The company began operations in 1900 and today o

On August 4, Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) reported second-quarter results that read like two different stories stapled together. Revenue climbed, the dividend grew for the 36th time in 35 years, and the merger with American Water inched closer to the finish line. But earnings per share actually dipped from a year earlier, and the company had to strip out merger costs just to show flat profitability. For a utility this steady, that split is worth a closer look.
Essential's regulated water segment posted revenue of $357.5 million in the quarter, up 7.6% from $332.3 million a year earlier, and the whole company's first-half revenue climbed 7.2% to nearly $1.4 billion. Much of that growth came from rate cases: state regulators approved $43.9 million in new annual water revenue across Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and Indiana, plus $12.7 million more for the gas business in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Another $79.7 million in water rate requests and a $163.2 million gas case in Pennsylvania, tied to replacing aging pipelines, are still working through the process.
The company keeps buying its way into new customers, too. In May, it closed a $4.9 million wastewater deal in Bastrop County, Texas, and it has signed agreements worth roughly $282 million to add over 200,000 more customers in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina and New Jersey, including the $276.5 million purchase of Philadelphia-area sewer authority DELCORA. Since 2015, acquisitions have added more than 138,000 customers to Essential's base.
Layer on the pending American Water merger, which cleared Virginia and Ohio regulators this year after nearly unanimous shareholder approval in February, and Essential is positioning itself as a much larger multi-state utility by early 2027. The board's decision to raise the dividend 5.25% to $0.3606 per share, continuing a streak of 36 increases over 35 years, signals confidence that this growth is durable.
Look past the top line and the picture gets less flattering. Second quarter net income actually fell to $105.7 million from $107.8 million a year ago, pulling GAAP earnings per share down to $0.37 from $0.38. Essential had to report an adjusted $0.38 figure just to exclude merger-related costs and show earnings roughly matching last year's. The slide is sharper over six months: net income dropped to $330.1 million, or $1.16 per share, from $391.6 million, or $1.41 per share, in the first half of 2025.

#water #pennsylvania

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the other major stock indexes fell Tuesday, with oil prices rising following an attack on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthis. Energy stocks jumped while software lagged. Meanwhile, memory-chip leader SK Hynix (SKHY) rallied on the stock market today, breaking out past a new buy point.
Stocks were under pressure in the first day of the shortened trading week, with the Dow industrials diving nearly 700 points. This equates to a 1.3% drop. Oil major Chevron (CVX) stood out with a 2% pop, putting shares back in a buy zone.
But Amgen (AMGN) plunged 9% and dropped to its 50-day moving average. It comes after a disappointing trial results for an experimental Novartis (NVS) cardiovascular treatment were seen as a negative indicator for the former firm's own fledgling heart treatment olpasiran. Novartis, not a blue chip stock, plummeted more than 13%.
The S&P 500 also felt the heat, dropping 0.4%. A majority of sectors were lower, with communication services and healthcare being hit the hardest. Energy and utilities were posting the best gains.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was also being punished, falling 0.5%. Booking (BKNG) and Shopify (SHOP) lagged due to drops of more than 5% and around 8%, respectively. CoreWeave (CRWV) showed strength by rising more than 8%.

#major #rising #lagged

On August 13, enCore Energy (NASDAQ:EU) reported financial and operating results for the six months ended June 30, and the numbers pull in two directions at once. The uranium miner delivered more pounds at higher prices than a year earlier, yet its net loss per share widened to $0.19 from $0.16. Underneath that headline sits a company racing to bring new wellfields online just as its current ones cost more to run than the uranium they produce is worth.
enCore delivered 485,000 pounds of U3O8 into contracts during the first half of 2026, up from 350,000 pounds a year earlier, at an average sales price of $70.10 per pound versus $62.58 in 2025. Both volume and price moved in the right direction, a sign that demand from utilities has not slowed even as the company's own production has. The bigger story sits in the ground. On June 22, enCore announced that its Dewey Burdock project in South Dakota received a 20-year renewal of its Source Materials License, extending the permit to June 2046, after the Bureau of Land Management cleared the company to begin infrastructure construction.
That milestone means Dewey Burdock now holds every federal permit it needs, leaving only a state review that began June 15. Closer to production, enCore expects final permits at its Alta Mesa Wellfield 3 Extension and at the Upper Spring Creek wellfield in the fourth quarter of 2026, both already built and waiting on paperwork rather than construction. Drilling at Alta Mesa East continued with three to five rigs through the quarter, and management says results have met or exceeded expectations. Add a July 2026 workforce reduction meant to lower costs starting in the third quarter, and the pieces for a stronger second half are at least on the table.
The production side tells a different story. enCore extracted just 131,274 pounds of U3O8 in the first half of 2026, down from 317,613 pounds a year earlier, a drop of more than half. Extraction costs rose to $57.36 per pound from $42.92, and once purchased pounds are folded in, the weighted average cost of delivered U3O8 climbed to $75.54 per pound, above the $70.10 per pound the company actually collected. That gap between what enCore pays to deliver uranium and what it earns selling it is at the center of the widened loss, which the company attributed to lower extraction and a fair value adjustment on its Verdera Energy Corp shares.
Alta Mesa's Wellfield 7 is also set to stop production in the third quarter of 2026 as it reaches natural depletion, removing supply before the newer wellfields are permitted to replace it. The near-term fixes aren't guaranteed on the timeline enCore has laid out either. Wellfield 8 permits are not expected until the end of the first quarter of 2027, and Dewey Burdock's state permitting process, still under review by South Dakota's Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources, has the company targeting development only in 2028.

#encore #pounds #quarter

On August 4, Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) reported second-quarter results that read like two different stories stapled together. Revenue climbed, the dividend grew for the 36th time in 35 years, and the merger with American Water inched closer to the finish line. But earnings per share actually dipped from a year earlier, and the company had to strip out merger costs just to show flat profitability. For a utility this steady, that split is worth a closer look.
Essential's regulated water segment posted revenue of $357.5 million in the quarter, up 7.6% from $332.3 million a year earlier, and the whole company's first-half revenue climbed 7.2% to nearly $1.4 billion. Much of that growth came from rate cases: state regulators approved $43.9 million in new annual water revenue across Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and Indiana, plus $12.7 million more for the gas business in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Another $79.7 million in water rate requests and a $163.2 million gas case in Pennsylvania, tied to replacing aging pipelines, are still working through the process.
The company keeps buying its way into new customers, too. In May, it closed a $4.9 million wastewater deal in Bastrop County, Texas, and it has signed agreements worth roughly $282 million to add over 200,000 more customers in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina and New Jersey, including the $276.5 million purchase of Philadelphia-area sewer authority DELCORA. Since 2015, acquisitions have added more than 138,000 customers to Essential's base.
Layer on the pending American Water merger, which cleared Virginia and Ohio regulators this year after nearly unanimous shareholder approval in February, and Essential is positioning itself as a much larger multi-state utility by early 2027. The board's decision to raise the dividend 5.25% to $0.3606 per share, continuing a streak of 36 increases over 35 years, signals confidence that this growth is durable.
Look past the top line and the picture gets less flattering. Second quarter net income actually fell to $105.7 million from $107.8 million a year ago, pulling GAAP earnings per share down to $0.37 from $0.38. Essential had to report an adjusted $0.38 figure just to exclude merger-related costs and show earnings roughly matching last year's. The slide is sharper over six months: net income dropped to $330.1 million, or $1.16 per share, from $391.6 million, or $1.41 per share, in the first half of 2025.

#million #revenue #merger #year

SpaceX (SPCX) has just delivered a fresh shock to Howmet Aerospace (HWM), putting one of the company's most closely watched growth opportunities under the spotlight. Shares of Howmet plunged 7.5% after CEO Elon Musk revealed that ******* eX plans to bring the casting of natural-gas turbine blades and vanes in-house, arguing that the move could accelerate the deployment of new turbines by as much as 18 months.
The announcement is particularly significant because Howmet has built a powerful position in the highly specialized turbine-blade market. The company reportedly holds more than 50% of the global market for industrial gas-turbine blades, while its gas-turbine revenue surged 38% in the latest quarter. The business has benefited from a surge in demand as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers require enormous amounts of electricity and utilities race to expand power-generation capacity.
Kevin O'Leary Says Tariff Chaos Has Created a 'Ridiculously Fantastic' Investment Opportunity in Canada — 'Never Been A Better Time' to Invest
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#blades #spcx #shares

On August 5, Southwest Gas Holdings (NYSE:SWX) reported second quarter results for the period ended June 30 and reaffirmed its full year 2026 guidance. Net income attributable to the company reached $42.1 million, a sharp turnaround from a $40.2 million loss in the same quarter of 2025. But the number that stood out was the Great Basin 2028 Expansion Project, where contracted demand has grown enough that management now expects capital costs of $2.3 billion instead of the $1.7 billion baked into current five year guidance.
Southwest Gas's growth story increasingly runs through Nevada. Binding precedent agreements for the Great Basin 2028 Expansion Project have grown to roughly 1 billion cubic feet per day of contracted demand, and the company has fielded another 1.8 billion cubic feet of expressions of interest for phases running from 2029 through 2035. Based on that demand, management now projects an annual margin of $270 million to $300 million once the pipeline is in service, on capital investment of about $2.3 billion.
Regulators have been cooperating too. California's Public Utilities Commission approved the non-cost-of-capital pieces of Southwest Gas's rate case, adding roughly $40 million of incremental annual revenue and triggering recognition of $9.7 million of previously deferred first-quarter income. Nevada regulators approved a Triennial Resource Plan with prudency pre-determinations for about $186 million of capital spending, and the company filed for a general rate case increase of roughly $74 million.
Arizona's new System Integrity Mechanism, effective April 1 this year, lets Southwest Gas recover safety and reliability spending faster, up to a $50 million annual cap. The company put $520 million into its network in the first six months of 2026, including $115 million toward Great Basin, and closed the quarter with $270.5 million in cash and nearly $1 billion in available liquidity.
Look past the headline swing to profit, and the picture gets murkier. The core natural gas distribution segment actually earned less this quarter, with its contribution to net income falling from $45.6 million a year earlier to $40.8 million, and its adjusted net income slipping from $33.7 million to $31 million. Depreciation and amortization rose $8.7 million, or 13%, as gas plant in service grew 7% year over year, a reminder that heavy pipeline spending shows up in expenses well before it shows up in rates.

#million #company #basin

Running two homes doubles property taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance costs against a Case-Shiller index sitting near a record high of 337.
New York's tax burden of $10,828 per capita versus Florida's $5,110 makes domicile choice the highest-impact financial decision over a 30-year retirement.
Medicare Advantage plans are region-locked, so snowbirds often land without in-network coverage in their second state beyond emergency care.
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Over a winter dinner, just about everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line has floated this idea at some point. Summers back home, winters somewhere warm, two front porches, and a life that never really has to deal with a deep freeze. It is one of the most common retirement fantasies people talk about, and one of the least often stress-tested. The brochure math is simple enough, but the operating math is where things tend to fall apart. Here is what running two households actually demands from a portfolio, and where the money quietly disappears.

#Retirement #investors

Duke (DUK) and Southern (SO) have secured a combined 25 gigawatts of data-center load commitments, converting electrification demand into recoverable regulated earnings.
Con Edison (ED) leads all S&P 500 utilities with 52 consecutive annual dividend increases, protected by New York State revenue decoupling that cushions volume swings.
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Regulated electric utilities are one of the few places income investors can find dividends backed by cash flows that don't rely on the economic cycle. Rate cases, riders, and long-term customer contracts turn capital spending into recoverable revenue, which is why payouts at these three names have kept climbing for decades. The clearest example: Con Edison's "50 straight years of dividend increases, a record unmatched among utilities in the S&P 500" was extended again this year to a 52nd consecutive annual increase. Here are three regulated-cash-flow utilities that income-focused portfolios can lean on.
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) is one of the largest fully regulated electric utilities in the country, serving roughly 8.73 million retail customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, plus Piedmont Natural Gas. The stock closed at $121.40 on September 3, 2026, with an annualized forward dividend of $4.34 after the July step-up to a $1.085 quarterly rate.

#duke #rate #recoverable

Google's Arkansas data-center buildout is providing a rare look at the price of AI electricity. Documents reported on September 1 show Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) agreeing to pay $526 million toward the Cypress Solar project and another $190 million for transmission upgrades. Those commitments benefit Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR), the regulated utility responsible for turning Google's computing ambitions into reliable power. The arrangements also reveal why electricity, not chips, may become the next constraint on AI growth.
Photo from Entergy website
Cypress is expected to pair 600 megawatts of solar generation with 350 megawatts of battery storage and cost about $1.6 billion. For Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR), a large customer helping fund generation and grid work can expand its rate base while reducing the burden on existing customers. The bull case is that data centers create years of visible load growth, supporting capital investment and earnings without forcing the utility to speculate on which AI model wins.
The bear case sits inside that same promise: huge projects can face construction delays, cost overruns, regulatory scrutiny, and uncertainty over how much demand ultimately materializes. Utilities must build for peak reliability, not optimistic averages. If Google's consumption projections prove too high or technology becomes more efficient, Entergy could be left defending expensive infrastructure. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), meanwhile, is absorbing a major power bill before the ***** ociated AI revenue is guaranteed.
Alphabet's advantage is that it can spread infrastructure costs across search, cloud, advertising, and internal AI products. Google Cloud's rapid growth suggests demand is real, and direct participation in power projects may secure capacity rivals cannot easily obtain. Yet the commitment also makes the economics of AI more capital intensive. Every dollar devoted to generation and transmission raises the hurdle for returns, while electricity contracts can lock a hyperscaler into long-lived obligations.

#entergy #electricity #Growth #corporation

Atlanta, Georgia-based The Southern Company (SO) generates, transmits, and distributes electricity. Valued at $101.6 billion by market cap, the company also offers wireless telecommunications services, provides businesses with two-way radio, telephone, paging, and internet access services, and wholesales fiber optic solutions.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," and SO definitely fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the utilities - regulated electric industry. SO has a robust foundation, with strong finances, a skilled workforce, and extensive infrastructure, including power plants and transmission lines. The company's expertise in navigating complex regulatory environments and influencing energy policy is a key ***** et.
A Potential ***** eX Deal Could Meaningfully Accelerate Growth for Technip Stock
Fears of an Extended US-Iran Conflict Boost Crude Oil Prices
Nat-Gas Prices Rise on Hotter US Weather and Expectations of Smaller Storage

#company #market #Services #atlanta

NextEra Energy says an artificial intelligence (AI)–driven dispatch and outage-scheduling tool has saved its customers more than $20 million so far this year. Santee Cooper expects a custom AI weather-forecasting model to help it avoid spot-market purchases that can cost $100,000 an hour during extreme weather. Both utilities say the tools moved from concept to production in a matter of weeks, not years.The two companies detailed their AI deployments during a Sept. 2 virtual media roundtable hosted by Google Cloud, alongside Raiford Smith, the company's global director of power and energy industry. The session focused on Gemini Enterprise, Google Cloud's platform for building and deploying AI agents, and framed both utilities as evidence that AI in the sector has moved beyond generic chatbots and into tools built for specific, high-stakes operational decisions."Utilities are being asked to deliver greater reliability, lower costs, and a grid ready for what comes next," said Rich Argentieri, president of NextEra ***** ytics. Tami Wilson, vice president and chief financial officer of Santee Cooper, described the shift in similar terms, saying her utility is moving away from "legacy, clunky, ***** bersome processes" toward AI-driven financial and load forecasting to save time and money.
Argentieri walked through NextEra's Grid Composer platform, which the company built on the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and rolled out across Florida Power and Light's (FPL's) generating fleet. The platform pulls together real-time telemetry, load data, and generation profiles—what Argentieri estimated at roughly half a trillion data points a day—into a single model that compares manual dispatch decisions against an AI-optimized alternative.NextEra built the first version of the tool in less than 12 weeks, according to Argentieri. Since then, he said, the optimized dispatch and outage scheduling it enables have produced "over $20 million of savings to our customers" so far this year. NextEra has since made the underlying tools available to other utilities through a Google Cloud marketplace product it calls Optos, with Optos Composer—the version built for market and ***** et optimization—unifying generation, fuel, maintenance, trading, reserves, and storage decisions that Argentieri said have traditionally been managed by separate, siloed teams."All of those teams very much traditionally siloed. And not only the people, but all the data and the processes that go into that," Argentieri said, describing generation, transmission, and trading functions that rarely shared data before. Bringing those functions onto a single platform, he said, has let the company avoid "suboptimal decisions" and given teams visibility into how choices in one area affect costs elsewhere in the system.Argentieri also pointed to field applications. FPL technicians—he estimated 85% to 90% of the company's workforce—now use voice-activated tools to pull torque specifications or work-order gu

The U.S. power grid is entering a period unlike any it has experienced in decades. Rapid electrification, domestic manufacturing, and the exponential growth of artificial intelligence are reshaping electricity demand. A recent report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, projects that data centers alone could account for between 9.5% and 15.3% of total U.S. electricity consumption by 2030. More broadly, U.S. electricity demand is projected to grow by approximately 15% to 20% by 2035—roughly 80–110 GW of firm capacity—underscoring the scale of new generation that will be needed. Against this backdrop, executives across the utility, independent power producer, industrial, and technology sectors are making investment decisions that will shape the grid for decades.Safety is foundational to any nuclear project and is subject to rigorous review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). But the commercial and execution risks utilities must weigh extend well beyond safety: reactor design, constructability, supply chain readiness, licensing progress, workforce depth, operability, performance, and reliability.Advanced reactors are often discussed as a single technology class, yet the commercial and execution risks ******* ociated with individual designs differ substantially. As these technologies move toward commercial deployment, evaluating them requires a more comprehensive ******* sment of their technology, deployability, and commercial merits—and, importantly, the extent to which each design reduces or eliminates risk across multiple dimensions over the full project lifecycle. That ******* sment begins with three structural questions.
Capital efficiency is more than the magnitude of overnight capital cost (OCC). It encompasses how effectively capital is deployed and the capital intensity over time—especially before the commercial operation date (COD)—as well as post-COD costs: fuel, refueling outages, major projects and refurbishment, labor and other operations and maintenance (O&M) expenditures, and ultimately decommissioning. OCC offers only a partial view, since financing costs can account for a significant portion of total project cost. A smaller, simpler, faster-to-build design may achieve superior unit economics compared with higher-output designs that initially project a lower $/kW, once financing and schedule are considered. This amplifies the importance of long-lead materials, supply chain certainty and resilience, workforce and learning effects, and constructability in determining overall project cost and capital exposure.Utilities should also examine how fundamental reactor design choices affect both construction and lifecycle costs. Designs with high inherent safety that employ passive safety features—placing the plant into a safe condition through the natural laws of physics rather than relying primarily on active systems or operator intervention—can reduce reliance on multiple trai

On August 24, ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) announced it had completed the acquisition of the **** ets of Daymark Solutions, a Massachusetts-based IT services provider, with the deal having closed three days earlier on August 21. The announcement landed three weeks after the company posted first-quarter fiscal 2027 results on August 4, showing sales climbing even as profit slipped. Together, the two headlines capture where ePlus stands right now: reaching for new growth in cloud and security while working through pressure on its existing business.
Daymark, founded in 2001, built its business serving highly regulated, data-intensive industries including energy and utilities, healthcare, life sciences, defense, and financial services. Its core capabilities span modern data center infrastructure, cloud, Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and cybersecurity, and its status as a Microsoft Tier 1 Cloud Solution Provider slots directly alongside ePlus' existing Azure and Microsoft 365 professional and managed services work. The acquisition also gives ePlus a deeper foothold in the New England region, particularly metropolitan Boston. CEO Mark Marron framed it as a way to gain a specialized Microsoft team that could serve as a catalyst for growth across Azure, Microsoft 365, security, and Copilot.
The timing lines up with what was already ePlus' fastest-growing segment. Managed services revenue rose 15.1% to $51.3 million in the first quarter, the segment's first quarter above $50 million, with gross profit up 11.3% on that growth. The balance sheet backs further moves like this one: cash and equivalents reached $448.9 million as of June 30, up from $410.8 million three months earlier, giving ePlus room for additional acquisitions, dividends, and buybacks. Management also pointed to record sales and a significant rise in booked and open orders, positioning the company for what it called a stronger second half.
The first quarter numbers show a company growing on top but shrinking underneath. Net earnings from continuing operations fell 5.4% to $30.3 million, adjusted EBITDA dropped 9.2% to $47.8 million, and operating income declined 9.6% to $38.8 million. Gross margin slipped to 23.3% from 23.9% a year earlier, with margin compression showing up across all three business segments rather than just one.
The professional services segment, the part of the business closest to the consulting and implementation work Daymark specializes in, fell 5.1% to $68.1 million, and its margin dropped to 36.9% from 39.2%. The product segment saw its own margin decline, to 21.0% from 21.3%, as an ongoing memory chip shortage extended lead times and delayed shipments. Terms of the Daymark transaction were not disclosed, leaving no visibility into what ePlus paid or how the deal affects near-term results.

#Microsoft #million #august #first

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) operates as an energy company in the United States. Valued at a market cap of $93.9 billion, the company operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I), and generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity to customers in the Southeast and Midwest regions.
Companies with a market cap of $10 billion or more are typically referred to as "large-cap stocks." DUK fits perfectly into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold and reflecting its substantial size and influence in the regulated electric utilities industry.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says His $3.5 Billion MediaTek Deal Is 'Not Circular' Because 'They Do Their Own Business'
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A Potential ******* eX Deal Could Meaningfully Accelerate Growth for Technip Stock

#billion #market #energy

The numbers don't lie: Nvidia (NVDA) has never had more influence on the broader stock market than right now.

Nvidia now accounts for about 8% of the S&P 500's (^GSPC) market cap, near its highest proportion on record per data from Augur Infinity (chart below). At a market cap of $5.4 trillion (and climbing), Nvidia's value is now bigger than that of five of the S&P 500's 11 sectors.

The AI chip darling's market cap also exceeds the combined value of the energy, utilities, real estate, and materials sectors in the S&P 500.
"Nvidia is making history," strategists at The Kobeissi Letter said.
The history is not coming without a host of very good reasons.
Nvidia said after reporting its fiscal second quarter earnings that it sees 70% revenue growth for fiscal year 2028. This was above **** yst forecasts for 45% growth. The sales gain would be larger — think in excess of 100% — if not for memory chip shortages, said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The company saw adjusted earnings per share of $2.22 on revenue of $96.2 billion in its just-reported quarter. These were better than the $2.09 per share the Street had expected and revenue of $92.3 billion.

#market #history #quarter #earnings

Sept 2 (Reuters) - Utility PG&E said on Wednesday it will defer about $2 billion in ‌2027 spending, leaving a capital plan of ‌about $11.4 billion, as it launches a strategic review amid wildfire liability concerns.
The review comes as PG&E faces renewed uncertainty over liability costs after a Senate bill amendment did little to reduce utilities' exposure ‌to expenses related ⁠to the fires or address the long-term solvency of California's fund for ⁠it.
The company had previously planned to spend $13.4 billion in 2027.
"California's wildfire liability framework continues to create financing risks that drive higher costs, affect customer affordability, ‌and limit investment in the energy system," CEO Patti Poppe said.
"Something has to change so that we can better serve our customers."

#reuters #utility #wednesday

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The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1552 ET – Mexico’s pipeline imports of U.S. natural gas were a record near 7.9 billion cubic feet a day in August, with gas for electricity generation in Mexico last month at an all-time high 5.8 Bcf/d, Wood Mackenzie says in a release. The firm projects that exports to Mexico have reached their 2026 peak. While volumes remain strong in early September, “Mexican gas and power markets are set to enter a gradual seasonal decline, driven by easing cooling loads, shoulder-season maintenance windows, and holiday-related demand softness.” The medium-term trend remains upward, however, as Mexico continues expanding its fleet of combined-cycle power plants, Wood Mackenzie adds. (anthony.harrupwsj.com)

#wood #power #talks

Sept 2 (Reuters) - Utility PG&E said on Wednesday it will defer about $2 billion in ‌2027 spending, leaving a capital plan of ‌about $11.4 billion, as it launches a strategic review amid wildfire liability concerns.
The review comes as PG&E faces renewed uncertainty over liability costs after a Senate bill amendment did little to reduce utilities' exposure ‌to expenses related ⁠to the fires or address the long-term solvency of California's fund for ⁠it.
The company had previously planned to spend $13.4 billion in 2027.
"California's wildfire liability framework continues to create financing risks that drive higher costs, affect customer affordability, ‌and limit investment in the energy system," CEO Patti Poppe said.
"Something has to change so that we can better serve our customers."

#sept #senate

PG&E Corp (NYSE:PCG) shares fell more than 19% after California lawmakers advanced wildfire legislation that stopped short of the liability protections utility investors had been seeking.
The amended Senate Bill 492 excludes a proposal from Governor Gavin Newsom that would have blocked insurance companies from suing utilities over wildfire-related claims, raising fresh concerns about Pacific Gas and Electric Company's exposure to future disasters.
PG&E said the legislation, amended by the California Legislature, would make some progress on wildfire risk reduction and recovery but would not provide the sustainable solution the state needs.
"Specifically, the bill does not adequately address the financing risks created by California's current wildfire liability framework," the company said in a statement. "As a result, it falls short of creating the long-term durability needed to attract affordable investment to support a safer, more reliable energy system and help keep costs down for customers."
The company pointed to an April report from the California Earthquake Authority, which found that existing funding mechanisms are not sufficient. PG&E said SB 492 does not adequately address those concerns.

#wildfire #legislation #short #adequately

Good morning. Stocks slipped in early trading as investors saw an increased probability of a September rate hike and the US and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend, dampening sentiment near the end of an ebullient earnings season.
It's the final trading day of August, and the major indexes are on pace for solid monthly gains.
Here's a check of the markets in the first few minutes of trading, based on a heat map powered by Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace data.
Tech (XLK) stocks traded flat against a broadly down market on Monday, with software and semiconductor stocks edging higher. The Energy sector (XLE) was the real standout, however, as rising oil prices stemming from the rekindled Middle East conflict lifted shares of Chevron (CVX), Exxon (XOM), and other energy firms.
PG&E Corporation (PCG) stock dragged down Utilities (XLU) after new California legislation left a lot of uncertainty about utilities' exposure to wildfire liabilities.

#trading #september #august

Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) generates, stores, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company has a market cap of $170.7 billion and operates through Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and NEER segments. NextEra generates electricity from wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and other clean energy ******* ets.
Companies with a market cap of $10 billion or more are typically referred to as "large-cap stocks." NEE fits squarely into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold and reflecting its substantial size and influence in the regulated electric utilities industry.
Dear Sandisk Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for August 31
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#Florida #fans #palantir

Hennessy Fund's Q2 2026 investor letter for the Hennessy Equity and Income Fund. The letter can be downloaded here. The letter discusses portfolio changes, emphasizing opportunities in equity and fixed income markets that can withstand economic uncertainty. The portfolio held businesses with a 23.0% pre-tax return on invested capital versus 16.1% for the S&P 500. The letter notes a reversal in U.S. equities, driven by AI spending and strong earnings, despite cautious sentiment among lower-income households. The focus on high-quality firms with durable advantages is expected to yield positive outcomes as valuation pressures mount, indicating that future market performance may hinge on fundamentals rather than speculative trends. The portfolio aims to capitalize on the overlooked valuations of quality companies, presenting significant investment opportunities. Also, check the fund's top five holdings to see its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Hennessy Equity and Income Fund highlighted Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D). Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) is a leading utility company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. On August 28, 2026, Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) closed at $65.55 per share. Over the past month, Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) returned -4.65%, while its shares have gained 9.43% in the last 52 weeks. Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) has a market capitalization of $57.65 billion, and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $55.85 to $72.99.
Hennessy Equity and Income Fund stated the following regarding Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Our process remains bottom-up, and recent volatility has mainly given us opportunities to add, what we believe, are high-quality businesses at attractive valuations, funded by trimming positions that had appreciated or where our conviction had lowered.
In January, we initiated a position in Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D), which operates as a predominantly regulated utility with stable earnings, improving financial flexibility, and attractive long-term growth drivers. More than 90% of earnings are generated from regulated electric and gas utilities in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, providing predictable cash flows and low revenue cyclicality.

#letter #Equity

Artificial intelligence has spent years fueling fears that machines could replace American workers. But the AI boom is creating another problem altogether: the U.S. may not have enough people to power it.
As tech companies race to build data centers and utilities expand the transmission lines and power plants needed to keep them running, demand is surging for electricians, engineers and construction workers. The trouble is that many of those workers are already in short supply and a sizable share are nearing retirement.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes

#ramsey #americans

Good morning. Stocks advanced on Thursday after Nvidia's (NVDA) bullish outlook sparked a rally in tech stocks, offsetting weakness elsewhere. Nvidia stock gained over 6% in early trading, while semiconductor stocks like Intel (INTC) and SK Hynix (SKHY) also rose.
Earnings movers Salesforce (CRM), Okta (OKTA), and CrowdStrike (CRWD) also surged by double digits on the backs of strong results and outlooks, spurring on a rally in software names as well. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called for an end to fears of software disruption, saying, "This nonsense of this SaaSpocalypse, I think it's time for it to stop."
Here's a check of the markets in the first few minutes of trading, based on a heat map powered by Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace data.
Tech (XLK) outperformed the rest of the market as the lone S&P 500 sector in the green. Strength in tech helped counterbalance declines in Utilities (XLU), Energy (XLE), and Communications Services (XLC).
Here are some notable stocks that Yahoo Finance readers are viewing this morning: Nvidia, Sandisk (SNDK), INTC, Marvell (MRVL), CrowdStrike, SK Hynix, Dollar Tree (DLTR)

#stocks #hynix #okta

I'm 84 and my wife is 77, and we are both fully retired. We have no significant financial obligations beyond routine monthly expenses such as food, utilities, taxes, insurance and so forth. Our largest expenses are required minimum distribution-related taxes and annual real-estate taxes, which together run about $7,000 per year.
Our combined net worth is approximately $8 million, most of which is held in separate traditional IRAs — two in my name and two in my wife's name. Our annual income comes from Social Security, RMDs and monthly pensions from previous employers. Our pensions total about $2,200 per month.
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There's so much betting against long-term bonds that a turnaround could catch investors off guard, says Citadel Securities
After taxes, we reinvest approximately half of our RMDs in a taxable brokerage account. The other half goes into a bank account from which we pay our expenses; it normally maintains a balance of about $45,000. We simply don't seem to need much money. Our relatively minor healthcare expenses are covered by Medicare and Medigap policies.

#taxes

Updated Aug. 24, 2026 4:58 pm ET
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The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1531 ET – Oil futures lose ground after six straight sessions of gains as the U.S. launched a plan to sanction countries or companies that do business with Iran. “The immediate measures look less dramatic than the rhetoric,” Jorge Leon, Rystad Energy’s head of geopolitical **** ysis, says in a note. Iranian oil exports are already down with the U.S. blockade and unless China reduces purchases further, the additional impact on Iranian oil revenues could be limited. “The biggest oil-market risk may not be the sanctions themselves, but Iran’s response to them,” he says. “Iran still has considerable capacity to disrupt everybody else’s exports.” WTI settles down 2.4% at $85.01 a barrel and Brent falls 2.4% to $92.17. (anthony.harrupwsj.com)

#market #down #updated

Guinness Global Innovators, an investment management company, recently released its Q2 2026 quarterly investor update for its "Guinness Global Innovators Fund". You can download the letter here. The Guinness Global Innovators Fund focuses on investing in global companies that benefit from innovation in technology, communication, globalization, and management strategies. In the second quarter of 2026, the Guinness Global Innovators Fund returned 13.8% in GBP, compared with 13.0% for the MSCI World Index and 13.1% for the IA Global sector average. Easing Middle East tensions, falling oil prices, and renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence helped reverse much of the caution seen earlier in the year, with investors rotating back toward growth stocks and AI infrastructure beneficiaries. The Fund benefited from its overweight position in the Information Technology sector, while its overweight position in Communication Services detracted. Avoiding weaker Utilities, Materials, and Energy also supported relative performance. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Guinness Global Innovators Fund highlighted KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) as a notable contributor. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. On August 21, 2026, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) closed at $183.99 per share. The one-month return of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) was -9.52% and its shares gained 109.19% over the past 52 weeks. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has a market capitalization of $240.39 billion.
Guinness Global Innovators Fund stated the following regarding KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"The Fund holds three semiconductor equipment manufacturers, which provide wafer fabrication equipment (WFE). They were the top performers over the quarter: Applied Materials (+111.8% in USD) KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) (+105.2%), and LAM Research (+103.0%). WFE companies sit at the heart of the semiconductor value chain, supplying the highly specialised tools needed to manufacture advanced chips. As demand for AI, high-performance computing and data centre infrastructure has accelerated, foundries and integrated device manufacturers have responded with record levels of capital expenditure, driving a strong upcycle in WFE spending. The AI infrastructure build-out is particularly supportive, as hyperscalers require not only more chips, but increasingly complex and advanced architectures, materially increasing equipment intensity across the manufacturing process. As a result, these companies have been printing strong quarterly earnings reports. KLA, the leader in process control and yield management, continues to play a critical role as semiconductor manufacturing becomes increasingly complex. Demand for its inspecti