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Loblaw Cos. Ltd. L-T -2.45%decrease reported a 6.8-per-cent increase in adjusted first-quarter profit and boosted its dividend paid to shareholders on Wednesday, as the country’s largest grocer continued to benefit from opening more No Frills and Maxi discount stores.

The Brampton, Ont.-based retailer reported that customers – who have been consistently shopping at lower-priced stores in recent years to cope with food inflation – have been “responding well” to its new store openings. Discount chains, which also include Real Canadian Superstore, are outperforming its full-price stores.

The company opened five new discount locations in the first quarter, and saw an increase in both the traffic to its stores and the amount customers purchased during each visit.

Loblaw is not alone in these efforts: Competitor Metro Inc. MRU-T -0.30%decrease has also said its Food Basics and Super C discount chains are growing, and last month reported that customer traffic had increased because of new store openings.

“We are very pleased that our strategic investments in opening new stores, and our focus on value, are resonating with Canadians and helping us to deliver strong financial results,” Loblaw president and chief executive officer Per Bank said in a press release Wednesday.

Rob Carrick: High food prices might be the most toxic form of personal-finance adversity in the past six years

Loblaw’s net earnings available to common shareholders jumped to $594-million or 50 cents in diluted earnings per share in the quarter ended March 28, compared to $503-million or 42 cents per share in the same period last year.

The earnings numbers were affected by a number of factors, including lower amortization of assets related to the acquisitions of Shoppers Drug Mart and Lifemark; the sale of the Wellwise business and property last year; and fair-value adjustments on fuel, investments and foreign currency contracts. Accounting for those factors, adjusted net earnings amounted to $609-million or 52 cents in diluted earnings per share, compared to $570-million or 47 cents per share during the same quarter last year.

Loblaw also announced on Wednesday that it will increase its quarterly dividend paid to shareholders by 10 per cent, to15.5 cents per common share.

First-quarter revenue grew by 4.2 per cent to $14.7-billion.

Same-store sales – an important measure of sales growth in existing store locations, rather than growth tied to new store openings – rose by 2.4 per cent in the company’s grocery stores, and by 4.1 per cent in its Shoppers Drug Mart chain and other drugstores. Drugstore sales were driven by strength in prescription drug sales and health care services.

E-commerce sales grew by 20.3 per cent in the quarter, driven by growth in delivery orders as well as success with third-party delivery partnerships with services such as Uber Eats. Those partnerships continue to expand: Following the end of the first quarter last month, Toronto-based delivery service Skip also announced a new partnership with Loblaw.

 Oilsands giant Suncor Energy Inc. says its first-quarter net earnings came in at $2.1 billion, up from $1.69 billion in the same period a year earlier. 

The profit amounted to $1.77 per share, higher than the $1.36 it earned per share during the first three months of 2025.

However, the earnings were lower than the average analyst estimate of $1.79, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. 

Gross revenues jumped to $15.42 billion for the three months ended March 31 from $13.33 billion in the same period a year earlier. 

Suncor achieved record first-quarter upstream production of 875,200 barrels per day, up year-over-year from 853,200 barrels. 

The Calgary-based company also said it had record refining throughput and refined product sales during the period. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.      

Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI) on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings of $459 million.

On a per-share basis, the Toronto-based company said it had net income of $1.03. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, came to $1.23 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.21 per share.

The news and financial information company posted revenue of $2.09 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.06 billion.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research.

Access a Zacks stock report on TRI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TRI

 Cameco Corp. reported its first-quarter profit and revenue rose compared with a year ago, helped by increased uranium sales and higher prices.

The company says it profit attributable to equity holders amounted to $131 million or 30 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31.

The result was up from a profit of $70 million or 16 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2025.

Revenue totalled $845 million, up from $789 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Cameco says it earned 47 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 38 cents per share and $856.9 million in revenue, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.

RB Global, Inc. (NYSE & TSX: RBA, the “Company”, “RB Global”, “we”, “us”, “their”, or “our”) reported the following results for the three months ended March 31, 2026.

“We delivered broad-based GTV growth across all our sectors, underscoring the strength of our growth strategy, the commitment of our teammates, and the value we deliver as trusted partners to our customers,” said Jim Kessler, CEO of RB Global. “our focus remains on what we can control ensuring that we consistently overdeliver on our commitments, particularly in this fluid macroeconomic environment.”

“Our topline momentum translated into earnings growth, reflecting the durability of our operating model and our disciplined execution across the business,” said Eric J. Guerin, Chief Financial Officer.

First Quarter Financial Highlights ^1,2,3 :

• Total gross transaction value (“GTV”) increased 13% year over year to $4.3 billion.
• Total revenue increased 11% year over year to $1.2 billion.
  • Service revenue increased 5% year over year to $897.7 million.
  • Inventory sales revenue increased 32% year over year to $336.9 million.
• Net income increased 20% year over year to $135.6 million.
• Net income available to common stockholders increased 21% year over year to $124.6 million.
• Diluted earnings per share available to common stockholders increased 20% to $0.66 per share.
• Diluted adjusted earnings per share available to common stockholders increased 13% year over year to $1.01 per share.
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) increased 11% year over year to $362.7 million.

2026 Financial Outlook

https://www.barchart.com/story/news/1692644/rb-global-reports-first-quarter-2026-results

TMX Group Ltd. reported net income attributable to equity holders of $224.6 million in the first quarter, up from $105.9 million a year earlier.       

That amounted to earnings per share attributable to equity holders of 81 cents during the period, up from 38 cents during the prior-year quarter. 

TMX Group says its revenue reached a record of $488.2 million, rising 16 per cent year-over-year from $419.1 million.   

The board of directors of TMX Group declared a dividend of 24 cents per common share outstanding. 

John McKenzie, the CEO of TMX Group, says the company saw significant annual growth in its transactional and recurring revenue-generating businesses. 

Last month, TMX Group signed a deal to buy Cboe Australia and Cboe Canada from Cboe Global Markets Inc. for about $409 million.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2026.

Thomson Reuters TRI-T reported a double-digit first-quarter revenue rise on Tuesday, boosted by gains in its “Big 3” business segments of legal professionals, corporates and tax, and audit and accounting, lifting its shares ⁠in early ​trading.

The Toronto-based content and technology company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue forecast of a rise of between 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent as it said customers were choosing its artificial intelligence products, which Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker described as “fiduciary-grade AI.”

“Across law, tax, audit and compliance, professionals accountable for high-stakes outcomes are choosing our AI products, built to the standards their work demands – grounded in authoritative content, designed and tested by our domain experts, and created to produce results that can be verified and audited under real-world scrutiny,” Hasker said in a statement.

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

Shares in Thomson Reuters, which have fallen by nearly 30 per cent this year, underperforming a rise of 5.2 per cent in the S&P 500 index, rose by more than 5 per cent at the open on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The stock has been hit by fears over the challenge that AI newcomers, including Anthropic, present to companies such as Thomson Reuters, which sparked a wider selloff in software, data and professional services shares earlier this year.

Hasker highlighted the role of ⁠Thomson Reuters in delivering AI to professionals such as lawyers, tax preparers or court officials in ⁠an interview following the results.

“The consequences of error and hallucination are too much to bear,” Hasker said, adding that to get ​something wrong would result in fines. “They result in loss of reputation, loss of license to practice, loss of clients and client relationships. And that’s where fiduciary-grade AI kicks in,” he said.

Hasker cited the 2,700 legal experts on staff creating legal content and hundreds of accountants ready to answer questions and proprietary data as major advantages for clients to rely on Thomson Reuters services ⁠over those of frontier AI models.

First quarter revenue, EPS exceed forecasts

“Thomson Reuters has done enough to calm the immediate AI concerns,” PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said, adding: “The company appears well placed for the AI era, but the focus remains on execution.”

“If it can embed trusted, auditable AI deeper into daily workflows, it strengthens customer loyalty, protects pricing power and builds a more defensible long-term position,” he said.

Thomson Reuters chief ⁠financial officer Michael Eastwood said in an interview that generative AI ​was responsible for about 30 per cent of the company’s underlying contract value, which breaks down a contract’s total value, in ⁠the first quarter, compared with 28 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Thomson Reuters said its first-quarter revenue rose 10 per cent to US$2.09-billion, surpassing estimates of US$2.04-billion. It said earnings per share excluding items rose to US$1.23. Wall Street had forecast earnings per share of US$1.20.

Revenue at Reuters, Thomson ​Reuters’ news division, rose 7 per cent as a result of higher agency revenue and a price increase from its business with the London Stock Exchange Group.

Thomson Reuters also said it completed a US$605-million return of capital to shareholders, reducing outstanding common shares by about 6.5 million. It also repurchased 2.5 million ​of common shares for about US$262-million.

Eastwood said the company had about US$9-billion of capital to spend on deals through 2028.

Shopify Inc. SHOP-T -9.02%decreaseSHOP-T -9.02%decrease topped analyst expectations with double-digit revenue growth in its first quarter, but its shares fell in premarket trading as it recorded a net loss as a result of its equity investments in other companies and projected slowing revenue and profit-margin growth in the current quarter.

The Ottawa-based company, which provides tools for businesses to run their stores online, said its revenue was US$3.1-billion for the quarter ended March 31, up 34 per cent from the same period last year, beating analyst expectations of $3-billion.

Gross merchandise value (GMV) – thetotal sales through its platform– increased nearly 35 per cent to US$101-billion over the quarter, compared to an analyst consensus of US$98.7-billion.

This represents the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of GMV growth at a rate of more than 30 per cent, Royal Bank of Canada analyst Paul Treiber said in a note to investors Tuesday morning.

Shopify reported a net loss of US$581-million for the quarter, compared with a net loss of US$682-million a year earlier, owing to a US$941-million loss on its equity investments, marked to market, net of taxes.

Tech stocks were once again hit during the quarter on concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on software, as well as geopolitical turmoil.

Excluding the impact of those equity investments, the company’s net income was US$360-million.

Shopify’s stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 19 per cent from the beginning of the year before markets opened Tuesday morning.

Shopify Inc

The company’s share price fell 8 per cent in premarket trading, as it lowered its second-quarter guidance compared to estimates it provided last quarter.

Shopify is now projecting revenue growth in the high twenties, while it had guided for growth in the low thirties three months ago. It is expecting second-quarter gross profit growth in the mid-twenties, compared to previous guidance in the high twenties.

However, these estimates came in mostly above what analysts were expecting, according to Mr. Treiber.

A surge in Somali piracy is fueling fears of a Red Sea “security vacuum” across the region as analysts warn of a revived maritime crime playbook, now linked to Iran-backed Houthis.

The warning follows a May 2 report from Yemen’s coast guard that armed men hijacked an oil tanker off Shabwa and steered it toward the Gulf of Aden, and the vessel has since been located with recovery efforts underway, Reuters reported.

“There is a fundamental shift in the maritime center of gravity amid a new phase of maritime instability in the region,” Ido Shalev, chief operating officer at RTCOM Defense, told Fox News Digital.

“Somali and Houthi-linked groups are teaming up — using skiffs and new tech to strike ships with coordination not seen in a decade — while Saudi crude rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz has created a ‘target-rich environment for them,’” he added.

COULD SOMALILAND BASE EMERGE AS US FOOTHOLD AGAINST IRAN, HOUTHIS IN KEY SEA LANES?

Members of the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) sit on a speed boat as they patrol the Gulf of Aden waters off the coast of Bosaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Somalia. (Abdirahman Hussein/Reuters)

“There is an opportunistic alignment, with the Houthis providing geopolitical cover and advanced GPS and surveillance, and Somali groups providing the boots on the ground or skiffs on the water,” Shalev said.

With the MT Eureka taken off Shabwa, Shalev, a former Israeli naval officer, suggested what he called the “Somali model” had returned “with a vengeance.”

“This is a transactional collaboration, and in the exact area where the Houthis are active and would like to cause damage and support their IRGC sponsor,” he said before describing how pirates would hijack the entire ship and cargo, taking them to a secure anchorage “like Qandala or Garacad.”

“They then demand a ransom for the entire package: the vessel, the tens of millions of dollars in oil, and the crew,” he said.

TRUMP HALTS MILITARY STRIKES ON HOUTHIS BUT EXPERT WARNS IRAN-BACKED TERRORIST GROUP REMAINS MAJOR THREAT

Somali and Houthi-linked groups are teaming up using skiffs and new tech to strike ships with coordination not seen in a decade. (Jason R. Zalasky/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

The surge in regional risk is also exacerbated, Shalev said, by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz. As Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf, global energy flows are shifting.

“Due to the closure and instability of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels of crude per day through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu,” the former Israeli naval officer said.

“This creates a target-rich environment in a sector that was previously a backbound route. With Brent Crude prices surging — peaking near $115/bbl this quarter — the prize for a successful hijacking has never been higher.”

The risk level in waters off Somalia was recently upgraded to “substantial” following a wave of hijackings and attempted attacks that began April 21, according to Windward AI and alerts from the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

At least three vessels were hijacked within days: a Somali-flagged fishing boat on April 21, followed by the Palau-flagged tanker Honour 25 (IMO 1099735), and, by April 26, a general cargo ship seized and redirected to Garacad.

ISRAEL’S NAVY HITS HOUTHIS IN YEMEN IN ‘UNIQUE’ STRIKE AFTER TRUMP PROMISES END TO US OPS

The surge in regional piracy risk is exacerbated by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf and global energy flows are shifting. (Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Shalev, who served as the lead architect for Nigeria’s “Falcon Eye” project — a surveillance system that successfully reduced piracy in those waters to 0% — warned that the distraction of global warships is being exploited.

“Because international naval forces are preoccupied with missile threats, a ‘security vacuum’ has now opened in the region, so pirates can travel vast distances in skiffs to board vulnerable commercial vessels,” he said.

“Somali piracy, which had been suppressed for years, has seen this sharp resurgence that also correlates perfectly with the Houthi crisis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Shalev said.

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The Red Sea carries 12% to 15% of global trade and about 30% of container traffic, moving over $1 trillion in goods annually, including oil and LNG, according to reports.

“The current crisis proves that you cannot ‘patrol’ your way out of this; you have to see the threat before it ever reaches the ship,” Shalev said.