Aramco Profit Drops With Weak Oil Signaling More Earnings Strain
Saudi Aramco reported a decline in profit in the first quarter as lower crude prices put pressure on the finances of the world's biggest oil exporter.
The company's net income slipped 4.6% to 97.5 billion riyal ($26 billion) in the quarter, according to a statement Sunday. Free cash flow again failed to cover the dividend despite the payout getting slashed.
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Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Kurosch Khazaeli Announces Expansion of Funnels & Brands Portfolio Reaching $100 Million Annual Revenue
Digital entrepreneur Kurosch Khazaeli reveals the growth of his Funnels & Brands portfolio to $100 million in annual sales, sharing key principles that drive sustainable business scaling and operational efficiency across global markets. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 7, 2025 -- Kurosch Khazaeli Announces Significant Growth Milestone in Funnels & Brands Portfolio Kurosch Khazaeli, a Dubai-based digital entrepreneur, today announces a major milestone in his business journey: his portfolio of funnels and brands has now surpassed $100 million in annual revenue. Over the past five years, Khazaeli has built a reputation for working with more than 1,500 companies worldwide, helping them develop scalable sales funnels and brand strategies that emphasize simplicity, profitability, and consistent growth. This milestone reflects Khazaeli's disciplined approach to business development and operational management. His focus remains on creating straightforward, cash-flow positive funnels that can be scaled efficiently without unnecessary complexity. The achievement underscores Khazaeli's capability to manage large-scale online ventures while maintaining sustainable profitability. Kurosch Khazaeli Shares Core Business Philosophy Fueling Portfolio Expansion Central to Khazaeli's success is a clear set of guiding principles that inform every decision he makes. He articulates a business philosophy that emphasizes daily growth, refinement of existing assets, and prioritization of tangible results over noise. Khazaeli explains, 'Everything in life is either growing or dying. Grow, every single day.' This mantra pushes continuous improvement and resilience in the competitive online business landscape. Khazaeli also stresses the importance of focusing on proven systems rather than chasing fleeting trends. 'Better beats new,' he says, highlighting the value of perfecting and optimizing what already works instead of constantly pursuing new, untested ideas. This pragmatic approach helps prevent distraction and enables long-term growth. Results Over Recognition: A Strategic Focus for Kurosch Khazaeli In an era dominated by flashy marketing and social media hype, Khazaeli takes a different path. He prioritizes delivering real outcomes for his ventures and clients. 'Success doesn't need an audience. Let your success do the talking,' he remarks. This perspective guides his efforts to build profitable businesses quietly but effectively, focusing on measurable performance metrics rather than external validation or marketing noise. This philosophy is evident across Khazaeli's portfolio, where disciplined execution and strategic scaling form the foundation of ongoing success. His emphasis on operational efficiency and revenue optimization has helped his ventures thrive in competitive markets globally. From Service Provider to Scalable Brand Builder: Kurosch Khazaeli's Career Evolution Khazaeli began his entrepreneurial journey managing service businesses, gaining valuable insights from working with a diverse client base. Over time, he shifted focus toward developing scalable funnels and brands that generate passive and active revenue streams. This transition allowed him to leverage technology and automation to create business models capable of significant growth without proportionate increases in overhead. His daily routine reflects this focused approach: 'Most mornings start at the gym, then it's simple — build stuff that works, scale what's profitable, and keep everything running smoothly.' Khazaeli balances his professional ambitions with a lifestyle that includes living between Dubai and Europe, traveling, and exploring new cultures alongside his wife. Building a Community and Talent Network Around Funnels & Brands Beyond his business ventures, Khazaeli has fostered a vibrant community of over 3,000 members dedicated to funnel and brand development. This network serves as a platform for sharing knowledge, collaboration, and supporting entrepreneurial growth. Khazaeli also actively seeks talented individuals to join his expanding portfolio. 'I'm always looking for smart, hard-working people to hire for my portfolio,' he states, inviting prospective collaborators to connect and contribute to ongoing projects. About Kurosch Khazaeli and Funnels & Brands Kurosch Khazaeli is a digital entrepreneur with extensive experience building and scaling online sales funnels and brands. Having partnered with more than 1,500 clients worldwide, Khazaeli has generated over $50 million in sales through authentic, transparent, and results-oriented business strategies. Based in Dubai, his portfolio, Funnels & Brands, represents a diversified collection of scalable, cash-flowing online businesses designed for sustainable growth. Media Contact Kurosch Khazaeli, Funnels & Brands Email: [email protected] Contact Info: Name: Kurosch Khazaeli Email: Send Email Organization: Funnels & Brands Website: Release ID: 89161864 Should any problems, inaccuracies, or doubts arise from the content contained within this press release, we kindly request that you inform us immediately by contacting [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our dedicated team will promptly address your concerns within 8 hours, taking necessary steps to rectify identified issues or assist with the removal process. Providing accurate and dependable information is at the core of our commitment to our readers.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Meet the Only S&P 500 Stock That Yields Over 10%. Here's Why It Could Be Worth Buying in June.
Dow Inc. is under pressure due to weak customer demand, global competition, and high costs. Management doesn't want to cut the dividend, but it could be a good choice given cost pressures. Even if Dow cut its dividend in half, it would still have an excellent yield. 10 stocks we like better than Dow › Commodity chemical giant Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) is hovering around a five-year low and is now down around 50% from its spin-off price when DowDuPont split into three separate companies in April 2019. Dow has kept its dividend the same for the last six years. But since the stock has been beaten down so much, Dow's yield has jumped to a whopping 10.3% at the time of this writing -- making it the highest-yielding component in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). Here's why Dow's challenges persist and why the dividend stock could be worth buying now, even if the company reduces its payout. Dow makes commodity chemicals -- mainly plastics and synthetic rubber. Dow has hundreds of products that are used either directly or indirectly across virtually every industry in the economy -- from electronics to food and beverage packing, textiles, construction, industrial applications, healthcare, cosmetics, household products like detergents and dish soaps, and more. Since these products are commodities, they lack pricing power. This is similar to the dynamic in oil and gas, where a gallon of unleaded gasoline sold at ExxonMobil is virtually the same as a gallon sold at Chevron. Consumers will largely make a purchase decision based on price, not brand. So Dow must achieve scale and operating leverage to ensure it can produce products at a competitive cost relative to its peers. Economic growth typically coincides with higher commodity chemical demand. But lately, two factors have been working against Dow. Demand is low across several end markets due to higher borrowing costs from elevated interest rates and slowing economic growth in key markets -- namely Europe. Another major challenge is competition. China has been ramping up investments in manufactured goods -- from chemicals to solar panels -- to take market share on the global stage. If China can produce chemicals sold by Dow for a cheaper price, it can undercut Dow on pricing. Dow is also working to become a more sustainable company by investing in plastic waste recycling and the world's first net-zero emissions integrated ethylene cracker -- known as its Path2Zero project in Alberta, Canada. However, on its first-quarter 2025 earnings call, Dow said that it is pausing Path2Zero to reduce its spending. Dow estimates that the pause will save the company $1 billion and reduce enterprise spending to $2.5 billion from $3.5 billion. Dow's latest quarter showed some signs of improvement, as it was the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year volume growth. But net sales still fell 3% due to a lack of pricing power -- which illustrates that demand is improving but competition is challenging. Dow's operating margin has gone from pre-pandemic levels around 8%, to 2022 highs in the mid-teens, to just 3.3% currently. As you can see in the chart, Dow's stock price is under pressure due to declining revenue and margins. The company's profit margin, which accounts for interest and taxes, is less than 1%. Dow is converting just $0.69 for every $100 in sales into profit -- which is unsustainable. It's also worth mentioning that Dow is free-cash-flow (FCF) negative, meaning that its operations can't support its dividend expense, so it has to rely on other means, such as debt. Since Dow isn't producing enough cash or earnings to cover its dividend, it can either sell assets, pull back on spending, take on more debt, cut the payout, or a blend of multiple ideas. As mentioned, Dow did pause its Path2Zero project, which could reduce its long-term earnings growth but will save on near-term expenses. On May 1, Dow completed the sale of a 40% equity stake in Diamond Infrastructure Solutions, which has infrastructure assets along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The sale netted Dow with $2.4 billion in initial cash proceeds, with the potential for $600 million more in proceeds if an option is exercised. Dow spent $494 million on dividends in its recent quarter, so the sale alone can cover the dividend expense for roughly five quarters. But selling assets or taking on debt to cover dividends is like plugging holes in a sinking ship. A preferred approach is to get the ship afloat -- or back to higher margins and consistent FCF -- so that operations can cover the dividend, and ideally, still have cash left over to pay down debt or buy back stock. In addition to savings from Path2Zero and the asset sale, Dow is also receiving around $1 billion in proceeds from a court settlement, and $1 billion in targeted cost savings by 2026, including $300 million in 2025. All told, Dow is on track to receive around $6 billion in additional cash or cost savings, most of which is coming this year. It's also worth mentioning that Dow has just $500 million in debt maturing in 2025 and no substantial debt maturities until 2027. So for now, its debt seems manageable. However, if Dow's margins remain depressed, it will have few choices but to cut the dividend. Dow's 10.3% yield is so high that the company could cut the payout by two-thirds and Dow would still yield 3.4% -- which is a solid source of passive income. When asked about the dividend on Dow's first-quarter earnings call, management responded that the cash and cost savings will help support the dividend, but that the situation is evolving and Dow will have to continue monitoring tariffs and macro factors. Dow may be a worthwhile turnaround play for investors who aren't banking on its dividend yield staying above 10%. If the company can use its cash proceeds wisely and continue managing its expenses, it could help weather the storm until economic conditions improve. However, it remains to be seen how Dow will hold up against the competition, even during a more normal operating environment. Dow has a long-term goal to have its dividend make up 45% of operating income. If Dow can get its operating margin back around the 8% to 9% range or if it cuts its dividend in half, it should be around that goal -- assuming it doesn't lose more pricing power. And if Dow can gradually improve its margins, the stock will begin to look dirt cheap. In sum, Dow has the cash and lack of debt obligations to afford its dividend in 2025. Going forward, I expect the company to cut its dividend at least in half or maybe by two-thirds if conditions don't improve, or it may decide to sustain the payout if there's a significant recovery in macro conditions. Risk-tolerant investors may want to scoop up shares of Dow now, with the stock at multiyear lows. In contrast, other investors may want to take a wait-and-see approach to Dow, as the next year will be pivotal in determining whether the company overcomes its present challenges or goes through with a dividend cut. Before you buy stock in Dow, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dow 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 $674,395!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $858,011!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 997% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 2, 2025 Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Meet the Only S&P 500 Stock That Yields Over 10%. Here's Why It Could Be Worth Buying in June. was originally published by The Motley Fool
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Forbes
FC Barcelona Considers Selling League Winner To Saudi Arabia
FC Barcelona has received interest from Saudi Arabia in one of its first team stars and is considering offloading him to the Pro League according to local newspapers SPORT and Mundo Deportivo. This week has already seen a report from the former publication explaining that Neymar's former employers Al-Hilal are interested in taking captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen off the Catalans' hands. Missing most of 2024/2025 through injury, the German is effectively being ousted from the club because of the expected arrival of Joan Garcia from Espanyol. RAC 1 reported that President Joan Laporta told the board Ter Stegen will have to leave if Barca activates Garcia's $28.5 million (€25 million) release clause, which is expected to be done in a matter of days. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick and his staff have also reportedly greenlit Ter Stegen's potential exit because of a poor attitude and effectively trying to force his way into the first XI for Barca's Champions League semifinal second leg defeat to Inter Milan despite not being registered for the competition. Whether Ter Stegen heads to the Middle East or not, one of his closest friends at Barca off the pitch in Andreas Christensen could do. SPORT reports on interest from Al-Hilal's bitter rival Al-Nassr in the Dane, and adds that Sporting Director Deco and Laporta are 'thinking about opening the door for him'. While Flick admires the 29-year-old for his versatility in being able to operate as a center back or pivot, Barca has to think about possibly profiting on a player it signed on a free for Chelsea, and who has just over 12 months left on his contract. Mundo Deportivo says that while Christensen hasn't shown he wants to leave Barca, there is a feeling that he will want to run down his contract and once more join his next club for nothing once becoming a free agent. FC Barcelona could afford to sell Christensen from a sporting sense because of its wealth of options at center back. With Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez undisputed starters, there's also Ronald Araujo to consider and Eric Garcia though injuries to some of these players have sometimes left Flick undermanned.
