Author: Consultant

Thomson Reuters TRI-T -7.07%decrease lifted its full-year organic revenue forecast on Wednesday, with CEO Steve Hasker saying that the Toronto-based content and technology company’s focus was on investing and developing AI across its portfolio.

The company said last week that early results showed Thomson, a proprietary large language model built for professional work and trained on content from Westlaw, Practical Law, Checkpoint and Reuters, performed well against frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google GOOGL-Q -0.27%decrease.

Thomson Reuters, which owns Reuters News, raised its full-year organic revenue forecast to around 8 per cent, from a previous range of 7.5 per cent to 8 per cent, as it reported second-quarter revenue rose 9 per cent to US$1.95-billion, just above estimates of about US$1.9-billion.

Hasker said in an interview after publishing the quarterly results that Thomson Reuters will focus on investing in Thomson and developing applications for the company’s legal, tax and accounting and audit professions as it explores broader commercialization of the model.

“We could see the opportunity to create sovereign AI solutions for our biggest and most sophisticated customers, while at the same time powering products like Westlaw and Co-Counsel with that, which would give us greater speed, greater scalability, and a cost advantage,” Hasker told Reuters.

Hasker said he also saw applications in the news division, but did not provide any details.

AI disruption concerns

Thomson Reuters said earnings per share excluding items rose to 99 US cents in the second quarter. This compared with Wall Street EPS forecasts of 96 US cents.

“I think the quarter should help calm some of the AI-disruption concerns, at least in the near term,” said Adam Sarhan, CEO of investment advisory firm 50 Park in New York, adding that AI investments are beginning to show in results.

Thomson Reuters leans on proprietary data in AI race as disruption fears mount

Shares in Thomson Reuters have been among those hit this year by fears over the challenges that AI newcomers, including Anthropic, pose to established companies, triggering a selloff in software, data and professional services stocks.

Thomson Reuters shares have underperformed the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which as of Tuesday was up 12.35 per cent year-to-date. Thomson Reuters shares were down 15.28 per cent over the same period.

“A 9 per cent revenue increase and an upward revision to full-year guidance suggest that customers are still paying for Thomson Reuters core products, even as AI changes how legal and tax information is consumed,” Sarhan added.

Chief financial officer Gary E. Bischoping, Jr. said in an interview that about 32 per cent of Thomson Reuters underlying contract value, which breaks down a contract’s total value, relied on generative AI in the second quarter, up from 30 per cent in the first.

Last month, Thomson Reuters announced the sale of 51 per cent of its global print business to create a joint venture with KKR to focus on its digital businesses and “fiduciary-grade AI,” which is AI built to produce results that can be verified and audited.

Gold prices gained on Tuesday, supported by a decline in oil ​prices that tempered inflation ​fears and lowered U.S. ​interest rate hike bets, while markets awaited further clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path.

Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,078.10 per ounce, ‌while U.S gold futures gained 1.1% to $4,134.60.

Oil prices ⁠pared gains after Qatar said efforts to secure a diplomatic resolution to the U.S-Iran conflict were continuing, though disruptions to oil flows through key shipping routes persisted. Brent crude futures were ‌down over 4% on the news.

Lower oil is probably one of the drivers supporting gold prices, said Bart Melek, global head ​of commodity strategy at TD Securities, adding that the decline in many ways has contributed to the interest rate outlook with short-term rates falling a little bit.

Elevated energy prices reinforce expectations that ⁠the Fed will keep interest rates higher-for-longer to combat inflation, weighing on non-yielding bullion.

Earlier on ‌Monday, Fed’s New York President John Williams said he ‌remained optimistic that inflation pressures were on track to ease gradually, but if they do not, the U.S central bank will not hesitate to respond with rate ⁠hikes.

Traders are now pricing in about a 61% chance of a ⁠rate hike in the central bank’s September meeting after ⁠a divided Fed kept rates unchanged at its last policy meeting.

Market participants are now awaiting a series of U.S jobs reports ​this week, including the ADP ‌employment report due on Wednesday and the nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.

“Anything that shows economic weakness is probably accretive to gold, mainly because it reduces the likelihood or the need for the central bank to act on interest rates,” Melek ​said.

Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated there may be a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz as soon as this week.

Brent, the international oil benchmark, slid 5.3% to close at $79.36 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures lost 5.7% to settle at $75.77.

“We are in talks with the Iranians,” Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

“It would be freedom of movement,” the Treasury Secretary said when asked whether Iran would be allowed to charge a toll.

Tehran is considering allowing European countries to clear mines from Hormuz, diplomats familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Mines in the strait are one of the biggest obstacles to normalizing traffic.

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he called off a major attack on Iran to allow for negotiations over Hormuz. The U.S. and Iran signed a deal on June 17 to reopen the strait but that agreement quickly collapsed.

Iran wants commercial ships to transit through Hormuz using the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters. It has repeatedly attacked vessels sailing through the strait along Oman’s coast under U.S. military protection.

A cargo ship was struck Monday by an unknown projectile about 20 nautical miles northeast of Al Khasab, Oman, according to an incident report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.

“Iran is unlikely to agree to any deal without getting control of the Strait, and thus we view any potential deal as being highly likely to fail at this point,” said Ryan McKay, director of commodity strategy at TD Securities.

Oil exports through Hormuz are unlikely to surge after a deal, McKay said in a Tuesday note. Flows “are already in line with what the current production recovery would imply, suggesting the upside for flows, even under a comprehensive deal, is minimal,” the strategist said.

Suncor Energy SU-T -3.56%decrease on Tuesday beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter adjusted profit, helped by higher crude price realizations and stronger refining margins.

Oil prices, boosted by the Iran war, have strengthened earnings prospects for Suncor and its oil sands peers, with Brent’s climb toward US$100 a barrel reinforcing Canada’s pitch as a safer, chokepoint-free alternative to Gulf crude.

Suncor’s refinery crude oil throughput rose to a second-quarter record of 470,600 barrels per day from 442,300 barrels per day, while its refinery utilization increased to 92 per cent from 87 per cent.

However, its total upstream production fell to 760,900 barrels per day from 808,100, partly due to a planned Firebag turnaround.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company posted adjusted operating earnings of $3.23 per share for the quarter ended June 30, above analysts’ average estimate of $3.07 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Aug. 5: Chorus Aviation Inc. (CHR-T), Flagship Communities REIT (MHC-UN-T), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS-T), Doman Building Materials Group Ltd. (DBM-T), Propel Holdings Inc. (PRL-T), Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd. (XNDU-T), Thinkific Labs Inc. (THNC-T), AirBoss of America Corp. (BOS-T), Kits Eyecare Ltd. (KITS-T), Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (GLXY-T), Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp. (PZA-T), Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-T), Savaria Corp. (SIS-T), Dorel Industries Inc. (DII-B-T), Sprott Inc. (SII-T)

Aug. 6: NFI Group Inc. (NFI-T), Enerflex Ltd. (EFX-T), Interfor Corp. (IFP-T), Cascades Inc. (CAS-T), Plaza Retail REIT (PLZ-UN-T), Rogers Sugar Inc. (RSI-T), Cronos Group Inc. (CRON-T), Profound Medical Corp. (PRN-T), TerrAscend Corp. (TSND-T), Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (PBH-T), Altus Group Ltd. (AIF-T), Goeasy Ltd. (GSY-T), Alaris Equity Partners Income Trust (AD-UN-T), Medical Facilities Corp. (DR-T), VitalHub Corp. (VHI-T), Knight Therapeutics Inc. (GUD-T)

Aug. 7: Superior Plus Corp. (SPB-T), Docebo Inc. (DCBO-T), Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (TRUL-CN), Slate Grocery REIT (SGR-UN-T), DRI Healthcare Trust (DHT-UN-T), Fiera Capital Corp. (FSZ-T)

Aug. 10: Cargojet Inc. (CJT-T),Silvercorp Inc. (SVM-T), Altius Minerals Corp. (ALS-T)

Aug. 11: Neo Performance Materials Inc. (NEO-T), Pason Systems Inc. (PSI-T), Minto Apartment REIT (MI-UN-T), BTB REIT (BTB-UN-T), Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T), Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. (PET-T), Hemlo Mining Corp. (HMMC-T), Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (WPRT-T), Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CPH-T), Organigram Global Inc. (OGI-T)

Aug. 12: Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI-T), Western Forest Products Inc. (WEF-T), BSR REIT (HOM-U-T), AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T), North American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA-T), Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. (AAWH-U-CN), Sagicor Financial Company Ltd. (SFC-T), HLS Therapeutics Inc. (HLS-T)

Aug. 13: Total Energy Services Inc. (TOT-T), Pollard Banknote Ltd. (PBL-T), Bird Construction Inc. (BDT-T), Automotive Properties REIT (APR-UN-T), True North Commercial REIT (TNT-UN-T), RFA Financial Inc. (RFA-T), Pro REIT (PRV-UN-T), ​​Calian Group Ltd. (CGY-T), Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (BPF-UN-T), Quarterhill Inc. (QTRH-T), Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (XLY-T)

Aug. 14: Beyond Oil Ltd. (BOIL-T)

Aug. 26: Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. (CSW-A-T), EQB Inc. (EQB-T)

Sept. 14: High Tide Inc. HITI-X

– with files from The Canadian Press and Reuters

AMD forecast quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, banking on strong demand for its chips from massive data-centre capacity expansions to power AI technologies.

Yet, its shares fell more than 7 per cent in extended trading, suggesting that investors were looking for an even stronger outlook after the stock more than doubled this year spurred on by AI optimism.

“AMD is now in a similar position to Nvidia NVDA-Q and the hyperscalers, where investors are looking for evidence that AI infrastructure investments will continue translating into accelerating returns,” said Jacob Bourne, an analyst at Emarketer.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is regarded as chip giant Nvidia’s closest rival in the market for graphics processing units, as major technology companies and governments worldwide ramp up spending on AI infrastructure.

Adv Micro Devices

518.58+304.42 (142.15%)

Year to date

Dec. 30, 2025

214.16

Aug. 4, 2026

518.58

SOURCE: BARCHART

It has stepped up its AI product launches and moved beyond selling individual chips to offering AI systems that combine processors, networking gear and related hardware, giving customers an integrated AI infrastructure option and allowing it to better rival Nvidia’s rack-scale offerings.

AMD expects third-quarter revenue of about US$13-billion, plus or minus US$300-million, while analysts estimate US$12.52-billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its expects adjusted gross margin to be about 56 per cent, largely in line with estimates.

The forecast suggests that AMD’s multi-billion dollar investments to challenge chip giant Nvidia’s dominance in the market for AI chips are beginning to pay off, with sales of its data-centre processors accelerating sharply.

While GPUs dominate heavy AI training, AMD is also benefiting from growing demand for central processing units, which are used alongside pricey graphics processors in servers. This has helped AMD capture market share from Intel.

AMD’s second-quarter revenue jumped 50 per cent to US$11.54-billion, beating the estimate of US$11.28-billion. Data-centre revenue more than doubled to US$6.72-billion, also exceeding expectations of US$6.48-billion.

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Adjusted profit of US$1.66 per share surpassed the estimated US$1.62.

At AMD’s AI event in July, CEO Lisa Su said the company’s second-generation Helios AI servers, featuring the MI455X AI accelerator and “Venice” processor made by TSMC, are in full production and would begin shipping in the coming months.

Supply, however, is constrained by AMD’s reliance on TSMC , the world’s largest contract chipmaker, where tight advanced packaging capacity continues to be a key hurdle.

AMD has also secured major customers and infrastructure agreements in recent months, as it races to expand its AI business.

About two weeks ago, it agreed to sell Anthropic tens of billions of dollars worth of AI servers powered by up to two gigawatts of MI450 chips from early 2027, and invest up to US$5-billion in the IPO-bound Claude maker, contingent on deployment milestones.

The company has also locked in up to 2.5 GW of data centre capacity through a deal with Core Scientific, while gaining warrants to purchase the company’s stock.

AMD’s client and gaming segment, which caters to consumer hardware, saw sales of US$3.84-billion in the second quarter, above estimates of US$3.78-billion.

Analysts have said weakness in the PC market, memory supply constraints and rising memory costs could weigh on demand and margins

Spotify SPOT-N -1.68%decrease forecast third-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, after the streaming giant reported slowing user growth in major markets of Europe and North America, driving shares nearly 4 per cent lower in premarket trading.

The company has launched AI features such as “Personal Podcasts” and new offerings such as “Reserved” to attract more users and fend off competition from rivals including YouTube and Netflix NFLX-Q +0.33%increase, and AI music startups like Udio and Suno.

Separately on Tuesday, Spotify announced a new agreement with digital music licensing firm Merlin for the Swedish company’s upcoming paid tool for fan-made covers and remixing. It will allows artists on labels under Merlin’s Spotify agreement to participate.

The company said it expects operating income of €670-million (US$770.97-million) in the third quarter, below analysts’ average estimates of €677.8-million, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.

In the second quarter, its operating income came in at €655-million, beating estimates of €639.2-million, driven by strong revenue growth and lower payroll taxes.

Such taxes, called social charges, are tied to the value of the company’s share price. The company’s shares have fallen about 16 per cent so far this year.

Spotify Technology S.A.

478.17-102.54 (-17.66%)

Year to date

Dec. 30, 2025

580.71

Aug. 4, 2026

478.17

SOURCE: BARCHART

The company’s quarterly revenue rose 14 per cent to €4.78-billion, slightly below LSEG-compiled estimates of €4.80-billion. The revenue forecast of €5-billion for the third quarter was slightly above estimates of €4.93-billion.

Its monthly active users forecast of 788 million was below Visible Alpha estimates of 793.6 million, while its outlook for a 5 million increase in premium subscribers to 305 million was largely in line with estimates.

While total MAUs and premium subscribers grew, North America and Europe’s percentage contribution to total MAUs declined. Europe’s share of premium subscribers has also continued to drop.

Nuclear reactor vendor Westinghouse Electric Co. has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, its owners revealed on Friday, as demand for new sources of nuclear power attracts renewed interest from investors.

Westinghouse is jointly owned by Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. BEP-UN-T +0.72%increase, through its renewable energy arm, and Saskatoon-based uranium fuel provider Cameco Corp. CCO-T -2.09%decrease

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the public listing have not yet been set, and the proposed IPO and its timing will depend on market conditions, Cameco said Friday. But the filing allows Westinghouse to prepare for a public listing and share information privately with regulators.

Nuclear energy is making a comeback as demand for electricity surges, especially to serve the rapid development of data centres that train and run artificial intelligence models.

Only eight years ago, Westinghouse was in bankruptcy when Brookfield’s private equity arm bought the company from Toshiba Corp. for US$4.6-billion.

Four years later, Brookfield’s private equity business sold Westinghouse to Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, the company’s renewable energy arm, for US$4.5-billion plus US$3-billion in assumed debt. Brookfield kept a 51-per-cent stake, and Cameco owns 49 per cent.

Westinghouse has a decades-long track record in the nuclear sector and a head start on many of its rivals. More than half of the nuclear reactors operating around the world use its technology, according to the company.

Last year, Westinghouse and its owners reached an ambitious deal with the United States government that seeks to build eight to 10 large nuclear reactors at a cost of at least US$80-billion.

If certain milestones are met – including Westinghouse reaching a valuation of US$30-billion – Westinghouse would be compelled to hold an IPO and the U.S. government would be allowed to take an 8-per-cent stake in the company.

Chris Cassin: Nuclear reactors produce one byproduct that is key to our future. Canada must stockpile it

The pursuit of such a lofty valuation for Westinghouse is a signal of the sharp reversal in fortunes for the nuclear sector, which is seeking large amounts of capital from investors for its expansion plans.

U.S. President Donald Trump has outlined a plan to jumpstart America’s nuclear industry. And Canada has a strategy to fast-track small modular reactor construction, while also adding more large-scale reactors in the country.

Brookfield Asset Management chief executive Connor Teskey said Friday that the U.S. Department of Energy has committed up to US$17.5-billion in loans to finance the early procurement of equipment for new reactors.

The government financing “is expected to accelerate deployment timelines by up to three years,” and to attract further investment in the nuclear supply chain, Mr. Teskey said.

“Our focus has now shifted from establishing the financing framework for long-lead orders to advancing individual projects,” he said.

Westinghouse’s main offering is its AP1000 reactor. There are two of these reactors operating in the U.S. and four in China, as well as more than a dozen others under construction. But the reactors also have a track record of construction delays and cost overruns, underscoring the inherent risk in such projects.

With a report from Reuters

TransAlta Corp. TA-T -2.66%decrease reported its second-quarter profit and revenue were up compared with a year ago.

The company says its profit attributable to common shareholders amounted to $35-million or 12 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30.

The result compared with a loss of $112-million or 38 cents per diluted share for the second quarter of 2025.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $487-million, up from $433-million a year earlier.

Power production totalled 4,720 gigawatt hours for the quarter, down from 4,813 GWh a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, TransAlta says it earned 18 cents per share in its latest quarter, unchanged from the same quarter last year.