February 09, 2025: Choppy, Headline Driven Market

Last week, Dow Jones fell 0.5%, S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and Nasdaq composite was down 0.5%. Tariff headlines, mixed earnings and economic data made for a choppy week. Cybersecurity company SailPoint is hoping to go public, in a US$11.5 billion IPO. Crypto exchange, Gemini, is also weighing an IPO. Anduril is in talks to invest about US$2.5 billion at a US$28 billion pre money valuation — more than 2x its last financing announced in August. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a sovereign wealth fund for the U.S., telling reporters later that it could buy part of TikTok. Palantir stock rose 23% after-hours after reporting a strong Q4 and providing strong guidance. Amazon reported 10% sales growth, shares were roughly flat in after hours trading on Thursday. Google’s revenue growth slowed slightly, and shares fell 7% as investors still await the company’s AI boost. Shares of AMD dropped nearly 9% in after-hours trading as investors reacted to the company’s tepid sales forecast. Roblox shares plunged 11.1% after the gaming platform fell short of Wall Street’s bookings and daily active user estimates. Bill Ackman said his hedge fund owns 30.3 million shares of Uber as it started building a position in January. In Canada, Converge Technology Solutions will be acquired for $5.50/sh in cash, representing ~56% and 57% premiums to the closing price and 30-day VWAP on the last trading day prior to the announcement of the transaction. Lightspeed will remain public company after a strategic review. Sophic Client, Intermap announced a $5 million Bought Deal offering. Sophic Client, Cybeats closed the final tranche of its Non-Brokered Offering, raising over $2 million in total proceeds. Sophic Clients Boardwalktech, and Plurilock announced progress with their businesses. Canada’s StackAdapt raised $235 million for its AI-based programmatic platform, in one of the largest Canadian start up funding rounds.

Converge Technology Solutions (CTS-TSX) to be acquired by H.I.G. Capital.

Converge Technology Solutions Corp. entered into an arrangement agreement (the “Arrangement Agreement”) with an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), whereby H.I.G has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares (the “Common Shares”) of the Company (the “Transaction”). Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, shareholders will receive $5.50 per Common Share in cash, other than Common Shares held by certain shareholders who enter into rollover equity agreements (the “Rollover Shareholders”). The purchase price of the Transaction values Converge at an enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion. A termination fee of C$34.4 million would be payable by Converge in certain circumstances, including in the context of Converge entering into a definitive agreement with respect to a superior proposal. The all-cash transaction will provide immediate liquidity to shareholders while establishing a strategic partner for Converge to execute its long-term growth strategy. Shareholders (other than the Rollover Shareholders) will receive $5.50 per Common Share in cash (the “Consideration”), representing approximately 56% and 57% respective premiums to the closing price and 30-day volume weighted average price of the shares on the TSX on February, 6 2025, the last trading day prior to the date of the announcement of the transaction.. https://tinyurl.com/5n8mw8ym

Lightspeed (LSPD-TSX, LSPD-NYSE) to stay public company after strategic review.

After completing a strategic review of its business and operations, Montréal-based Lightspeed Commerce has announced plans to stay public and execute “a full transformation plan,” to the dismay of investors. Lightspeed’s transformation plan involves focusing on two “leading growth engines” for the company: retail in North America and hospitality in Europe. The company intends to expand the number of locations it serves, increase software and payments penetration, and optimize other areas of the company’s business for efficiency. Lightspeed plans to buy back up to US$400 million worth of its shares from investors. Lightspeed said its board, a committee of independent directors, and executive leadership unanimously reached this decision, noting that this strategy “presents the best available path to maximizing value” for both the firm and its shareholders.. https://tinyurl.com/yf37j8nr

Sophic Client Intermap (IMP-TSX, ITMSF-OTC) announces $5 million Bought Deal offering.

Intermap Technologies entered into an agreement with Beacon Securities Limited (“Beacon” or the “Underwriter”) as the sole underwriter in connection with a “bought deal” private placement of 2,223,000 Class “A” common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”) at a price of C$2.25 per Common Share (the “Offering Price”) for aggregate gross proceeds of C$5,001,750 (the “LIFE Offering”). In addition, Intermap has granted Beacon an option, exercisable, in whole or in part, at any time up to 48 hours prior to the closing date of the LIFE Offering (the “Closing Date”) to purchase up to an additional 734,000 Common Shares at C$2.25 per Common Share for additional gross proceeds of up to C$1,651,500. Concurrent with the LIFE Offering, the Company intends to pursue a non-brokered private placement of Common Shares at the Offering Price (the “Concurrent Private Placement” and together with the LIFE Offering, the “Offerings”). https://t.co/wxNzHVllYp

Sophic Client Cybeats Technologies Corp. (CYBT-CSE,CYBCF-OTCQB) closes final tranche of Non-Brokered Offering; over $2 million in total proceeds.

Cybeats Technologies Corp., announced the closing of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the “Offering”) for total gross proceeds of over $2 million. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four month and one day hold as required under applicable securities laws. https://t.co/vYsXAMFBMs

Sophic Client Boardwalktech, Inc. (BWLK-TSXV, BWLKF-OTCQB) expands momentum within top 5 US bank and with partners.

Boardwalktech Software Corp., announced that it continues expansion in one of its banking customers who is a top 5 US Bank. Boardwalktech reached an important milestone at the end of January 2025 in the delivery of its Velocity product, increasing annual recurring revenue and expanding professional services agreements with multiple partners through 2025 which will deliver over $300,000 of incremental revenue to Boardwalktech from this engagement, which represents a doubling to comparable levels last year for the Company. This joint professional services work is also critical to the projected contractual increase in annual recurring revenue when the bank renews its license in April. Banks continue to face mounting regulatory pressure to mitigate and improve the risks associated with end-user computing applications (EUCs). Many of these EUCs are developed and managed using Microsoft Excel, which has become an integral part of how banks manage and report on many areas of their business. https://t.co/6ryzlAvMv6

Sophic Client Plurilock (PLUR-TSXV, PLCKF-OTCQB) announces U.S. Federal contract extension of NASA SEWP V and investor awareness campaign.

Plurilock Security Inc., announces that the U.S. federal government has approved an extension of the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V contract, allowing federal agencies continued access to Plurilock’s advanced cybersecurity offerings under its U.S. subsidiary, Aurora Systems Consulting. On Monday, February 3, NASA headquarters approved the extension of SEWP V, ensuring uninterrupted procurement of critical IT and cybersecurity solutions for federal agencies. The contract has been extended for six months until October 31, 2025, with two additional three-month optional extensions, if required, potentially extending the contract by a full year. https://t.co/S4lXJlUkXd

Canada’s StackAdapt snaps up $235 million for its AI-based programmatic platform.

While the U.S. and Canada duke it out over tariffs between the two countries, a tech company based out of Toronto is announcing a major round of funding led by a homegrown VC. StackAdapt, a programmatic advertising startup, says that it has raised $235 million in equity funding, with Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) — the investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan — leading the growth round. Intrepid Growth Partners, a firm based between Toronto and London, is also participating, along with four other investors that are not being named. The funding is significant both for its size and its focus. In terms of the size, this is one of the bigger funding rounds for a startup out of Canada to date — although it’s not the biggest. https://tinyurl.com/48cra2db

Okta competitor SailPoint races toward US$11.5 billion IPO.

Cybersecurity company SailPoint is hoping to go public — again. This time, the company plans to sell US$1 billion worth of stock and hit an US$11.5 billion valuation in its planned IPO. That’s how the math works out for a proposed offering it announced Tuesday of 47.5 million shares, at between US$19 and US$21. SailPoint’s owner, Thoma Bravo, plans to also sell 2.5 million shares. SailPoint offers identity management wares to enterprises and is a competitor to US$16 billion market-cap Okta. This isn’t SailPoint’s first time as a public company. It was publicly traded until Thoma Bravo took SailPoint private in 2022, valuing it at US$6.9 billion at the time. The private equity giant will still own over 87% of the company after the IPO. The company said in its S-1 filing that it’s on track for US$813 annual recurring revenue, as of October. SailPoint reported annual net losses of just over US$395 million on about US$700 million in revenues as of January 2024; the company said it has more than US$1 billion in debt, with its balance sheet showing debt of US$1.5 billion. https://tinyurl.com/mput7d7h

Crypto exchange Gemini weighs IPO.

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is considering going public as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported. The firm is in talks with potential advisers about a listing, the outlet reported. Last year, Gemini resolved its legal woes from its Gemini Earn lending product—which halted withdrawals in 2022 after its counterparty Genesis ran into financial troubles—by returning money to customers. Crypto companies have been gearing up to go public as the regulatory environment and market sentiment improves after the election of President Donald Trump. https://tinyurl.com/345857jm

Founders Fund to invest US$1 billion into Anduril at US$28 billion valuation.

Anduril is in talks to invest about US$2.5 billion at a US$28 billion valuation before the new investment, according to three people with knowledge of the fundraising talks. The new financing, more than double the valuation of a financing announced in August, is expected to include US$1 billion from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. That will more than double the amount the VC firm has already invested in Anduril, which was co-founded by Founders Fund general partner Trae Stephens. Sands Capital, known for investing in both private and public shares, is also in talks to invest, according to a person with knowledge of the fundraising talks. The firm made its first investment in Anduril during the weapon-maker’s last round. Existing investors include Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and 8VC. CNBC first reported on the new valuation. The funding discussions are taking place as Anduril benefits from rapid growth in revenue, which reached US$1 billion last year, and investor anticipation that it will benefit from the new Defense Department under President Donald Trump. In January, the company was in talks to sell US$100 million worth of stock owned by employees. New sales of existing stock will occur at the latest valuation, according to a person close to the company. https://tinyurl.com/5xa9d9dz

SoftBank nears deal to acquire chip designer Ampere.

SoftBank Group Corp. is in advanced talks to acquire Ampere Computing LLC, people familiar with the matter said. The Japanese company is discussing a deal that could value the Oracle Corp.-backed chip designer at about $US6.5 billion, including debt, according to the people. A transaction may be announced in the coming weeks, they said. https://tinyurl.com/22wpsmax

Trump says new U.S. sovereign wealth fund could buy TikTok.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a sovereign wealth fund for the U.S., telling reporters later that it could buy part of TikTok. “We might put [TikTok] in the sovereign wealth fund, whatever we make or we do a partnership with very wealthy people, a lot of options,” Trump said. “But we could put that as an example in the fund.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick, the nominee for Commerce secretary, will be in charge of spearheading the effort. The text of the executive order that the president signed was not immediately released. Last month, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find a buyer for its U.S. assets by 75 days through a separate executive order. He previously floated the idea of a joint venture deal for TikTok with 50% U.S. ownership to allow the app to stay in operation in the U.S. However, Bessent said this new fund would be created in the next 12 months, so it’s unclear if it would happen quickly enough to meet the extended deadline for TikTok. https://tinyurl.com/39xv47kw

Musk’s Twitter lenders sell US$5.5 billion worth of debt.

Lenders to Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, sold a total of US$5.5 billion of debt on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, more than two years after Musk borrowed US$13 billion to help fund his US$44 billion buyout of Twitter in 2022. The debt was sold at 97 cents on the dollar, according to the Journal report, a better price than the lenders originally expected. Typically lenders sell debt soon after a transaction is done but in the case of Twitter, the collapse of its ad business after the takeover forced lenders to hold off. That delay appears to have paid off. Musk’s high profile as a close advisor to President Trump appears to have made X’s debt more appealing. The debt sale also has brought to the surface details of X’s financial performance. The Journal report said that X earned earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about US$1.25 billion in 2024 on revenue of US$2.7 billion, which is a margin of 46%. The interest on the debt is around US$1.3 billion, however, so X is either losing money or break-even at best. In 2021, the year before Musk took over, Twitter’s Ebitda was US$1.47 billion, excluding a legal settlement, on revenue of US$5 billion, or a margin of 29%. https://tinyurl.com/mr3yk9cv

Palantir’s shares soar on strong Q4 results and upbeat projection.

Palantir, which sells data analytics software to governments and enterprises, lifted revenue 36% in the fourth quarter, it reported on Monday. For the year, Palantir’s topline expanded 29%. The company projected revenue growth would accelerate to 31% this year. The bullish projection sent Palantir’s stock jumping 23% in after-hours trading. A large part of Palantir’s strong growth in recent quarters has come from commercial customers in the U.S., a group that includes firms in the pharmaceuticals, insurance and telecom sectors. Palantir said revenue from those customers grew by 54% year-over-year to US$703 million in 2024. The company now has nearly five times the number of commercial customers in the U.S. as it did three years ago, executives said on the company’s earnings call on Monday. Palantir’s sales to U.S. government customers also expanded 30% in 2024 to $1.2 billion, as the U.S. Army brokered new contracts with the firm. https://tinyurl.com/5e6mnn2r

Amazon reports 10% sales growth.

Amazon’s sales grew 10% year-over-year to US$187.8 billion in the fourth quarter, the company said Thursday. Operating income, meanwhile, grew 61% to US$21.2 billion, in part as the company kept a lid on logistics costs. Most of Amazon’s business lines reported steady or slightly slowing growth during the period. For example, Amazon Web Services grew 19%—the same rate as the previous quarter—while advertising’s growth rate fell to 18% from 19%. Amazon’s physical stores business, however, saw growth accelerate to 8% from 5% during the preceding quarter. Amazon shares were roughly flat in after hours trading on Thursday. https://tinyurl.com/mwm3app5

Google revenue growth slows slightly, shares fall 7% as investors await AI boost.

Alphabet’s revenue grew 12% year-over-year to US$96.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, three percentage points slower than growth in the third quarter, and growth in its rentals of cloud servers slowed by five percentage points compared to the prior quarter. Despite not showing a business boost from generative artificial intelligence, the company said capital expenditures for data centers and other property would rise 44% to US$75 billion in 2025. Shares fell more than 7% in after-hours trading. Google Cloud sales rose 30% year-over-year to US$12 billion, down from 35% in the third quarter but up from 29% in the second quarter. By comparison, Microsoft’s Azure cloud business grew 31% in the fourth quarter—or one percentage point faster than Google Cloud. The Azure growth appears impressive, given it is significantly bigger than Google Cloud in revenue. On the bright side, Google Cloud’s operating income more than doubled to US$2 billion in the fourth quarter, and Google said demand for cloud AI servers exceeded its available supply, limiting its potential revenue. CEO Sundar Pichai said that because the cost of AI models is falling—underscored by the recent launch of the super-cheap DeepSeek reasoning model—and would drive more AI usage, Google needs to “invest to meet that moment.” https://tinyurl.com/2yhxrjc2

AMD shares drop 9% as GPU sales growth remains murky.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices dropped nearly 9% in after-hours trading as investors reacted to a tepid sales forecast for its current quarter and graphics processing unit sales figures that show it is still lagging far behind Nvidia. AMD generated more than US$5 billion in sales from the MI300, its GPU which competes with Nvidia, last year after raising its forecast by US$500 million last quarter. But AMD didn’t provide a forecast for GPU sales for its current quarter. On a conference call with analysts, Lisa Su, president and CEO of AMD, said only that AMD expects its GPU business to grow to “tens of billions” of dollars over “the next couple of years.“ In any event, AMD still has a long way to go to catch up with Nvidia, whose data center chip business generated US$30.8 billion in revenue in its October quarter, which was up 112% from the previous year’s quarter. Nvidia reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 26. For its December quarter, AMD’s sales grew 24% to US$7.7 billion. AMD is forecasting revenue of US$7.1 billion for its current quarter, plus or minus US$300 million, which would represent growth of around 30% compared to last year’s quarter at the middle of that range. https://tinyurl.com/5br6dbhf

Disney posts another quarterly streaming profit.

Disney’s streaming business posted another quarter of profits as the company seeks to generate US$1 billion in profits for Disney+ and Hulu during its fiscal 2025. The company said its direct-to-consumer division, which encompasses Disney+ and Hulu, generated an operating income of US$293 million during the quarter ending on Dec. 28, 2024, compared to a loss of US$138 million the previous year. The streaming profits helped offset ongoing declines in the company’s traditional entertainment TV business, which saw operating income fall 11% year over year to US$1.1 billion during the quarter. Disney+, meanwhile, lost about 700,000 subscribers during the quarter, ending the year with 124.6 million subscribers globally. The company is expecting another modest loss in subscribers during its fiscal second quarter. Hulu’s subscription service that does not include its live TV business added about 1.6 million subscribers during the quarter. https://tinyurl.com/3aax7z2z

Snap’s revenue grows 14%, Snapchat+ subscribers hit 14 million.

Snap’s revenue grew 14% in the last quarter to US$1.56 billion, buoyed in part by the growth of its subscription service Snapchat+, which hit 14 million subscribers in 2024. The results triggered Snap’s stock to jump in after-hours trading Tuesday. While the financial report showed bright spots for the company, other areas were more subdued. Snap’s global daily active users increased 9% year over year to 453 million, for example, but that remained flat in the U.S., which is a key market. And while Snap’s direct-response advertising revenue increased 14%, its brand-advertising revenue was down 1%. Advertising overall rose 10%, in line with the past couple of quarters. The company is forecasting that its operating expenses in 2025 will be between US$2.7 and US$2.75 billion and its headcount will increase between 8 and 10%. The company also said it has brought on a new chief business officer, Ajit Mohan, who served as the company’s head of Asia-Pacific since 2023 and previously worked at Meta Platforms. https://tinyurl.com/yr6ds3e3

Roblox plummets 11% on disappointing bookings, daily active users miss.

Roblox shares plunged 11.1% after the gaming platform fell short of Wall Street’s bookings and daily active user estimates. The stock posted its worst day since May 2024. Roblox reported bookings of US$1.36 billion for the fourth quarter, versus the US$1.37 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Daily active users came in at 85.3 million, reflecting 19% growth from a year ago. However, the figure came up short of a StreetAccount estimate of 88.2 million. The company said it anticipates bookings to range between US$5.20 billion and US$5.30 billion for 2025, compared to a US$5.30 billion FactSet estimate. CEO David Baszucki said in an earnings release that the company would continue to invest in its virtual economy, app performance and “AI-powered discovery and safety, empowering creators and enhancing the user experience” in the new year. The results from Roblox come amid a rocky stretch for the industry. Video game developer Electronic Arts cut its forecast last month due to slowing sales in its soccer franchise, among other games. In its earnings release Tuesday, the company showed a 6% decline in net bookings from a year ago. https://tinyurl.com/4zeyhcrt

Ackman says he’s amassed a stake in Uber worth US$2 billion.

Bill Ackman said his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management owns 30.3 million shares of Uber Technologies Inc., citing the strength of the rideshare company’s management and saying that its stock is undervalued. The firm began building a position in Uber in early January, Ackman said Friday in a post on X. Based on Uber’s closing stock price on Thursday, Ackman’s share of the company is worth about US$2 billion, or a little over 1% of the company’s market valuation. https://tinyurl.com/ywpd6vb9

Google says commercial quantum computing applications arriving within five years.

Google aims to release commercial quantum computing applications within five years, Google’s head of quantum told Reuters on Wednesday, in a challenge to Nvidia’s predictions of a 20-year wait. “We’re optimistic that within five years we’ll see real-world applications that are possible only on quantum computers,” founder and lead of Google Quantum AI Hartmut Neven said in a statement. Real-world applications Google has discussed are related to materials science – applications such as building superior batteries for electric cars – creating new drugs and potentially new energy alternatives. Google’s prediction arrives amid wider uncertainty about when such a breakthrough will occur. Predictions from investors and experts range from several years to at least two decades. https://tinyurl.com/3mzbsa3z

SoftBank says it will buy US$3 billion worth of OpenAI products annually.

SoftBank said on Monday it would spend US$3 billion per year on technology from OpenAI for itself and its subsidiaries, such as chip designer Arm and electronic payment service PayPay. The commercial relationship will boost OpenAI’s revenue as well as its relationship with SoftBank, which is an existing investor in OpenAI and has been in talks to lead a US$40 billion financing of OpenAI that could value it at around US$300 billion, including the new capital. The Japanese telecom conglomerate and OpenAI said they will also establish a joint venture to market a suite of OpenAI tools, branded as Cristal Intelligence, exclusively to companies in Japan. Cristal Intelligence will include a version of ChatGPT for businesses as well as OpenAI’s application programming interface. It also “securely integrate[s]” with the “systems and data of individual enterprises in a way that is customized specifically for each company.” Large consulting firms often handle such customization for AI customers, so the joint venture could become a competitor. Earlier this month, SoftBank also partnered with OpenAI and Oracle as part of a venture, called “Stargate,” to raise US$100 billion initially, and $400 billion more over several years to spend on data centers to power OpenAI’s technology. https://tinyurl.com/yc43cm69

China opens probe into Google and imposes new tariffs against U.S.

The Chinese government on Tuesday launched several investigations into U.S. companies including Google and announced retaliatory tariffs on some American imports including coal, crude oil, liquified natural gas, agricultural machinery and pick-up trucks. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation anti-monopoly regulator said it launched a probe into Google on suspicion of violating the country’s antitrust laws. The one-sentence statement included no specific details but was announced after the U.S. on Saturday imposed a 10% tariff on products imported from China, starting from Tuesday. China said its tariffs on select American goods range from between 10% and 15%, and will take effect from Feb. 10. Google pulled its search engine from China in 2010, and other services like Google Maps and YouTube are also unavailable in the country. Google still maintains an office in Beijing with employees related to mobile app development, supply chain, cloud services and Chinese partnerships. Although Google doesn’t earn much revenue from China, it still makes billions of dollars a year from Chinese advertisers who promote goods and services outside of China, The Information has previously reported. It’s not clear whether the probe could have any impact on that business. https://tinyurl.com/59r2ep6v

China considers antitrust probe into Apple’s app store.

China’s anti-monopoly regulator is weighing a probe into Apple over its App Store policies, Bloomberg reported. Officials from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation have spoken to Apple executives and app developers since last year, which was before President Donald Trump took office, Bloomberg said. Still, the Chinese government could use a potential probe of Apple to increase pressure on the U.S., which recently imposed 10% additional tariffs on imports from China. On Tuesday, the Chinese government announced a probe into Google for potential antitrust violations. The officials are focusing on Apple’s practice of taking a 30% cut of app transactions and its ban on third-party payments and alternative app stores, Bloomberg added. If Apple resists changes to its App Store policies, a formal probe could be announced, Bloomberg reported. The European Union last year opened a similar probe into Apple for possible violation of antitrust laws. https://tinyurl.com/4f7d52cw

Trump pauses ban on duty-free shipments from China.

The Trump administration said Friday that it had temporarily reversed a ban on duty-free package shipments from China that had gone into effect just days earlier, the latest in a series of abrupt moves that have upended the e-commerce industry. Friday’s move amends an executive order that had gone into effect on Tuesday. The original order effectively ended a provision commonly used by Temu and Shein that had allowed packages worth less than US$800 to enter the U.S. from China without companies paying customs or tariffs. Companies, customs brokers and U.S. authorities had just a few days to prepare, leading to widespread disruptions over the past few days including canceled orders. The new executive order said that de minimis would temporarily be allowed for Chinese packages until “notification by the Secretary of Commerce to the President that adequate systems are in place to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue applicable pursuant to subsection.” The White House did not give a timeline for when that could happen. https://tinyurl.com/j9caedff

Trump tariffs will end trade loophole used by Shein and Temu.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a sovereign wealth fund for the U.S., telling reporters later that it could buy part of TikTok. “We might put [TikTok] in the sovereign wealth fund, whatever we make or we do a partnership with very wealthy people, a lot of options,” Trump said. “But we could put that as an example in the fund.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick, the nominee for Commerce secretary, will be in charge of spearheading the effort. The text of the executive order that the president signed was not immediately released. Last month, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find a buyer for its U.S. assets by 75 days through a separate executive order. He previously floated the idea of a joint venture deal for TikTok with 50% U.S. ownership to allow the app to stay in operation in the U.S. However, Bessent said this new fund would be created in the next 12 months, so it’s unclear if it would happen quickly enough to meet the extended deadline for TikTok. https://tinyurl.com/39xv47kw

Sophic Client American Aires (WIFI-CSE, AAIRF-OTCQB) – The Price is STILL Right.

In Sophic Capital’s American Aires – Price is Right report, we demonstrated through peer company analysis how American Aires Inc. was both very effective at generating gross profit from marketing spend and was undervalued on that basis, at that point in time, relative to peers. In this report, we revisit these metrics, given that American Aires (“Aires” or the “Company”) recently provided fiscal 2025 guidance. As Sophic Capital did in our American Aires – Price is Right report, we review American Aires’ valuation versus MedTech and Direct to Consumer companies. Recall, in that report, we classified comparable companies into those two categories as investors make the case that American Aires sits somewhere between those categories based on the Company’s offerings and technology-based IP, or its “moat”. Indeed, we find that on a revenue growth and Gross Margin scale, American Aires does sit in the middle of this spectrum. Exhibit 1 suggests that current prices imply American Aires’ revenue growth and Gross Margins are relatively undervalued, comparing sales multiples with expected 2025 revenue growth and already realized Gross Margins in the Trailing Twelve Months (“TTM”). MedTech companies (“peers”) trade on 7.9 times their average 2025 sales estimates, while Direct to Consumer (“DTC”) companies trade 2.3 times their average forward 2025 sales estimates. Based upon the lower end of Aires’ 2025 revenue guidance range, it trades at 0.8 times. https://t.co/LnwcDD5JQo