Couche-Tard's Bid for 7-Eleven Parent Looking Less Likely
Canadian convenience-store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard's ATD -1.41%decrease; red down pointing triangle year-long pursuit of 7-Eleven's Japanese parent appears to be heading toward resolution, but most signs point to a dead end, analysts say.
Couche-Tard's bid for Seven & i Holdings 3382 0.33%increase; green up pointing triangle has progressed behind the scenes. In his latest comments on the deal Thursday, Couche-Tard Chief Executive Alex Miller said he believes the deal can clear regulatory hurdles.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
This Stock Is Up 55,000% Since Its IPO: Here's 1 Reason It Could Still Be a Smart Buy
O'Reilly Automotive is one of the top retailers in the auto parts space, where it benefits from durable tailwinds that support steady demand. Same-store sales increased by 2.9% in 2024, continuing an impressive 32-year growth streak. Management has continued to aggressively repurchase shares despite the stock's rising valuation. 10 stocks we like better than O'Reilly Automotive › History may not always repeat, but the past can serve as a guide. For investors, looking at previous market winners might help us identify stocks that could outperform from here. In that vein, consider a leading niche retailer that usually flies under the radar. As of this writing, this retailer's stock is up by more than 55,000% since its initial public offering in April 1993. In just the last five years, it's up by 213%. Yet even after those monster gains, there's one reason why it could still be a smart buy. The modern world is constantly being reshaped by the forces of cutting-edge technology -- cloud computing, AI, digital payments, and e-commerce to name just a few. And those technologies are providing serious tailwinds to many of the businesses connected to them. O'Reilly Automotive's (NASDAQ: ORLY) business doesn't fall into any of these high-tech buckets. However, one understated tailwind will continue to benefit this aftermarket auto parts retailer. A recent report released by S&P Global showed that the average age of vehicles on the road in the U.S. is now 12.8 years. This figure has climbed for eight straight years. While that secular trend may not be as exciting as the others mentioned, it will be a reliable boon for O'Reilly. It sells various products, including motor oil, air filters, brake pads, floor mats, and batteries, among many other things, to both do-it-yourselfers and professional mechanics. Aftermarket is the key thing investors should remember -- these are products that aren't usually made by the original car manufacturers. Consumers shop at O'Reilly to extend the lives of their vehicles. The greater the mileage is on a car, the more upkeep it will require. Natural wear and tear isn't hard to understand. But most car warranties expire after three to five years, after which whatever goes wrong is strictly the owner's problem. As cars stay on the road for more years and more miles, demand gets stronger for the stuff that O'Reilly sells. The macroeconomic environment is also helping the retailer. With interest rates on auto loans at some of their highest levels in the past decade and other material and labor costs up as well, buying a car is less affordable. This incentivizes people to spend money on repairing the vehicles they already own. These trends have shown up in O'Reilly's financial performance. In 2024, the company reported a same-store sales increase of 2.9%. That was its 32nd straight year of growth, which is unheard of for any retailer. This demonstrates the company's ability to thrive regardless of economic conditions. There's a lot to like about this company. Steady demand that propels revenue and earnings higher is undoubtedly one reason that O'Reilly should be on your investing radar. Management has also aggressively used its free cash flow to buy back stock. In the past five years, O'Reilly has reduced its outstanding share count by 24%. However, the valuation isn't cheap, and that's my main concern. Its current price-to-earnings ratio of 32.8 is 36% higher than its trailing 10-year average, so I'm waiting for this multiple to come down before I even consider adding O'Reilly to my portfolio. But given the company's impressive track record, other investors might have a different view. Before you buy stock in O'Reilly Automotive, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and O'Reilly Automotive wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Stock Is Up 55,000% Since Its IPO: Here's 1 Reason It Could Still Be a Smart Buy was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Should You Buy Rocket Lab While It's Below $40?
Rocket Lab stock is soaring on optimism over the rocket launch provider. The company is planning to unveil its next-generation rocket called the Neutron later this year. Rocket Lab stock looks overvalued at today's price levels. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Space and defense stocks have gone to the moon this market cycle (pun intended). Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) is one of the great beneficiaries of this trend, as the rocket launch, space systems, and defense company has seen its stock soar close to 600% in the last 12 months, absolutely crushing the broad market indices. It recently surpassed a price of $33, hitting a new all-time high in recent weeks. Investors are optimistic about the future of this space flight disrupter as it aims to compete with SpaceX. Should you buy the stock while it is still below $40? Or is it too late to add Rocket Lab to your portfolio? The answer may surprise you. Rocket Lab is the only independent space provider to come anywhere close to competing with SpaceX, the dominant player in the sector. It began its journey developing the small and nimble Electron rocket, which ferries commercial and defense payloads into space with extreme accuracy. Earlier this month, the 65th Electron rocket was launched into space, with many more waiting in Rocket Lab's backlog. The next step for Rocket Lab is the debut of its larger Neutron rocket, which will directly compete with SpaceX in size and capabilities. The Neutron will have a much higher payload capability than the Electron, which means more potential revenue per rocket launch. A Falcon 9 launch at SpaceX can cost over $50 million, which should be a comparable figure for the Neutron once it starts performing for customers. Management believes the Neutron will debut its first launch in 2025, with commercial launches planned in the years after. Rocket Lab's total revenue was only $466 million over the last 12 months, meaning that just a few annual Neutron launches could be quite meaningful to top-line growth. On top of launches, Rocket Lab has built and bought capabilities in the space systems sector, which encompasses items that you put onto payloads in space such as satellites and solar arrays. It just acquired a company called Geost to help further its vertical integration into the defense satellite sector, a highly important capability to have today. In fact, over 70% of Rocket Lab's Q1 revenue came from the space systems segment, making it a much larger market opportunity than just rocket launches. A vertically integrated space company is an ambitious goal, and Rocket Lab is aiming to build it from launch to space gear to eventually software services, according to management. It has a nice narrative, but it is not guaranteed to work. For one, the Neutron rocket has never even performed a test launch. As investors have recently seen with SpaceX and its Starship tests, mishaps in testing can lead to disastrous (and expensive) results. Rocket Lab is currently unprofitable, burning $177 million in annual free cash flow as it builds out the Neutron and other space system segments. With just over $500 million in cash and equivalents, the company is only a few years of cash burn and failed tests of the Neutron rocket from running into a liquidity concern. These are unproven markets, and while Rocket Lab is innovating in a field that could potentially be worth tens of billions of dollars someday, its business plan comes with a lot of risks. After soaring 600% in the last 12 months, Rocket Lab now trades at a market cap of $15 billion. That brings its trailing price-to-sales ratio (P/S) to a sky-high level of 36. For reference, the S&P 500 trades at an average P/S ratio of 3, or about 10% the level of Rocket Lab. Yes, Rocket Lab has a higher growth potential than the average stock, and could easily be generating billions of dollars in revenue in the future. It is not guaranteed to do so, though. Even if Rocket Lab reaches $3 billion in sales -- close to 10x today's level -- it is unclear how much of that would translate to bottom-line profits due to its low gross margins below 30%. If it achieves a bottom-line profit margin of 10%, that would equate to $300 million in annual earnings, or a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of over 50 compared to its current market cap. And these earnings will not materialize for many years, if they end up doing so at all. However you slice it, Rocket Lab looks like an overvalued stock that has gotten ahead of itself in the last year or so. Avoid buying Rocket Lab for your portfolio. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $409,114!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,173!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $713,547!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy Rocket Lab While It's Below $40? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk says Senate bill would destroy jobs and harm US
(Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday criticized the latest version of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill released by the U.S. Senate, calling it "utterly insane and destructive," weeks after the world's richest person and its most powerful ended a feud sparked by Musk's opposition to the bill. "The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!" Musk wrote in a post on X. "It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future."
