Latest news with #ArasuKannagiBasil
Zawya
30-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Fintech Ramp secures $22.5bln valuation in late-stage funding round
Fintech Ramp said on Wednesday it had raised $500 million at a valuation of $22.5 billion in a late-stage funding round led by investment firm ICONIQ. Ramp offers corporate cards, payment services and expense management applications. The move comes just over a month after the company secured a $16 billion valuation in a Series E funding round. The latest round brings Ramp's total equity financing to $1.9 billion. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Visa, Mastercard set for higher profits on solid spending trends
By Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Visa and Mastercard are expected to report higher quarterly profits this week on steady consumer spending, and analysts will scrutinize how demand for travel and discretionary purchases is shaping up in the face of tariff uncertainty. The results from the world's biggest payment processors will help flesh out the broader financial outlook that major banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo presented earlier this month, signaling a resilient consumer. "Visa and Mastercard remain top ideas, particularly in an uncertain macro environment, given their broad-based exposure to discretionary and non-discretionary spend, geographic reach, and proven ability to stabilize their expense increase in downturns," Oppenheimer analysts said in a note. Billions of people worldwide use Visa and Mastercard for their everyday spending and other purchases, making the card networks better equipped to weather downturns. They also have more expense flexibility to support profit growth. In recent years, the companies have diversified their business model by building out value-added services such as threat intelligence and fraud reduction. Still, some analysts expect a potential spending slowdown in the back half of 2025. Cross-border travel, a high-margin business for payments companies, has come under some pressure due to trade tensions and geopolitical risks. Slower travel from Canada to the U.S. and fresh tensions in the Middle East in June have raised concerns over a potential drag on growth. Analysts will also examine whether elevated volumes are being driven by a pull-forward in spending, as consumers pre-purchase goods they expect to get costlier after tariffs are imposed. In the second quarter, total card spending volumes modestly increased across bank issuers. Across credit and debit cards, Bank of America showed an increase of 110 basis points, while JPMorgan Chase showed a 40 bps rise, according to data compiled by RBC Capital Markets. "On balance and relative to expectations, data seems neutral for the networks and acquirers, considering overall spending trends appear at least stable compared to last quarter's growth, which we think should be good enough considering the macroeconomic volatility since last quarter's earnings," J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note. Investors will also zero in on the forecast around stablecoins. While both the card giants plan to launch products linked to the cryptocurrency, the recent passing of the Genius Act has raised some concern that stablecoins could eliminate the need for payment intermediaries in the long term. Visa, the larger of the two by market value, will announce quarterly results after markets close on Tuesday, while Mastercard will report on Thursday. American Express surpassed quarterly profit expectations earlier this month, helped by resilient spending by its affluent customer base. Visa and Mastercard shares have gained nearly 13% and 8% year-to-date as of Friday's close, respectively, while the benchmark S&P 500 index has gained 8.6%. Company EPS estimates Year-ago Visa $2.85 $2.42 Mastercard $4.03 $3.59 Source: LSEG, Company Statements Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US exchanges set to reap windfall as market volatility fuels trading rush
By Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Major U.S. stock exchanges are expected to report higher second-quarter profits, driven by increased fee collection from record-breaking trading volumes as investors rushed to reposition portfolios hit by tariff-related volatility. Periods of heightened market volatility usually drive up trading volumes, and with it, transaction and clearing fees, which translate into better earnings for exchanges. In the second quarter, uncertainty sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs triggered volatility, exacerbated by tensions in the Middle East. The prolonged period of macroeconomic uncertainties has supported strong performance in average daily volumes, RBC analysts said. Trading was elevated across asset classes, including rates, energy, equities, as well as futures and options. Average daily volume (ADV) jumped 16% to a quarterly record of 30.2 million contracts at CME Group. At New York Stock Exchange-owner Intercontinental Exchange, ADV surged 26% to record 10 million contracts. Trading in Cboe Global Markets' S&P 500 index options hit a quarterly record of 3.7 million contracts. Nasdaq also saw robust gains in U.S. equities and options trading. Retail engagement also remained resilient as investors continued to "buy the dip" even through the tariff saga and the rebound in risk assets, brokerage Morgan Stanley said in a note. Some exchanges are also dabbling in crypto offerings like bitcoin index futures as digital assets get increasingly meshed with traditional finance. Cryptocurrency ADV jumped 136% at CME in the quarter, underpinned by record growth of ether futures. Looking ahead, trading volumes are set to moderate as uncertainty eases. Still, volatility in expectations on the magnitude of future interest rate cuts is anticipated to support rates trading. An improving capital markets backdrop also benefits exchanges. IPO market activity ground to a halt in the first half of the second quarter, with several companies postponing plans amid the volatility. However, progress on trade talks have revitalized the market, with companies such as digital bank Chime and stablecoin issuer Circle debuting in June. The total deal value of U.S.-listed IPOs on Nasdaq in the second quarter nearly tripled to $13.2 billion versus a year earlier, according to data by Dealogic. The number of new U.S.-listings also almost doubled in the quarter. CME starts the earnings season for U.S. exchanges on Wednesday, while Nasdaq reports on Thursday. Cboe and Intercontinental Exchange report results next week. Exchange stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year. For the first six months, CME and Cboe gained nearly 19% each while Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq rose 23% and 16% respectively, versus a 5.5% gain in the S&P 500 index. Exchange Q2 EPS estimates CME Group $2.91 Nasdaq $0.81 Intercontin $1.77 ental Exchange Cboe Global $2.42 Source: LSEG Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New York banks, REITs fall as Mamdani's mayoral lead stokes rent freeze worries
By Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Shares of several New York-based banks and real estate investment trusts fell on Wednesday as Zohran Mamdani's lead in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary stoked concerns that his proposed rent freeze could pressure building owners. On the campaign trail, Mamdani, a 33-year-old state lawmaker and self-described democratic socialist, vowed to lower costs for New Yorkers as a mayor by freezing the rent for all rent-stabilized apartments. Wall Street analysts have warned that the move could hurt building owners already grappling with higher costs, as constraints on their ability to raise rents might make it more difficult for some to repay their debt. "Politicians continue to march down a perilous path for rent-regulated multi-family with allowable rent increases lagging expense growth," brokerage Stephens said. The real estate sector has already been reeling under pressure as higher interest rates strained borrowers while the post-pandemic adoption of remote working left office buildings vacant. While Mamdani's proposals could face budgetary constraints and opposition from industry participants, banks in New York City could remain under pressure in the near-term, BofA analysts said last week. Shares of Flagstar Financial and Dime Community Bancshares fell 5% and 4%, respectively, while Flushing Financial was down 3%. Flagstar and Dime Community have a heavy exposure to rent-regulated multi-family in New York, according to analysts. Among New York-exposed REITs, SL Green Realty and Vornado Realty Trust fell 5% each. Equity Residential and Empire State Realty Trust fell 3% and 4%, respectively. LXP Industrial Trust was down 2.5%. However, while Mamdani's proposals have rattled investors, some analysts said the immediate risks may be limited. Analysts at Citi said the concerns stirred by his sweeping "freeze the rent" campaign promise could bring forward incremental credit concerns, but the actual fundamental impact on banks is likely to be minimal in the short to medium term. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Data analytics startup Coralogix doubles valuation to over $1 billion in latest funding round
By Arasu Kannagi Basil and Ateev Bhandari (Reuters) -Data analytics platform Coralogix nearly doubled its valuation to over $1 billion in its latest funding round, co-founder and CEO Ariel Assaraf told Reuters in an interview, as artificial intelligence-driven enterprise offerings continue to pique investor delight. Coralogix raised $115 million in a round led by California-based venture growth firm NewView Capital, the startup said on Tuesday. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and venture firm NextEquity also participated in the round. The fundraise comes three years after Coralogix's previous external funding in 2022, where it raised $142 million. Valuations have faced downward pressure since then, as investors continue to sit on dry powder amid elevated interest rates and geopolitical tensions. Enterprise software-as-a-service startups, however, have endured a wider slowdown in venture capital funding, with an AI gold-rush pushing SaaS financing to record $58 billion in the first quarter, according to PitchBook. Coralogix's revenue increased seven times since 2022, Assaraf told Reuters. The company, however, is yet to be profitable, with nearly 75% of its revenue in 2024 going towards research and development, according to Assaraf. "Successful companies in our space always invest a large portion of their revenue in R&D and were very late to become profitable," Assaraf added, noting a similar pathway across peers Datadog and Splunk. Startups are integrating AI-driven agents across IT development and operations as enterprises increasingly ask for all-in-one platforms to oversee their entire cloud infrastructure and processes. Coralogix expanded into AI observability with the acquisition of Aporia in December 2024. The company is aggressively looking to expand its AI talent pool, Assaraf said. "If there's a strategic acquisition of a company with a specific, very talented pool of people around AI, we will make those acquisitions, even if they're not small," he told Reuters. On Tuesday, Coralogix also unveiled its new AI agent "olly," aiming to simplify data monitoring via a conversational platform. Industry leaders have hailed AI-based agents as a transformative use case of the technology. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
