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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Arch Capital Group (ACGL): A Bull Case Theory
We came across a bullish thesis on Arch Capital Group on WorldlyInvest's Substack. As of 2ⁿᵈ July, Arch Capital Group's share was trading at $88.38. ACGL's trailing and forward P/E were 9.06 and 9.78 respectively according to Yahoo Finance. An insurance agent at their desk consulting a customer about property & casualty insurance. The thesis on Arch Capital Group (ACGL) is built around the company's strong positioning in a persistently hard P&C insurance market. The current hard cycle, driven by elevated catastrophe losses, is expected to continue, benefiting ACGL from continued rate increases and premium growth. The company's underwriting discipline has improved, and investment income is expected to drive significant EPS growth. The analyst expects ACGL to outperform due to strong industry tailwinds, operational excellence, and undervaluation relative to peers. The base case projects a 13% growth rate in insurance Gross Written Premiums (GWP) and 20% in reinsurance, with a target price implying 39% upside. Risks include a potential softening of insurance/reinsurance markets or mismanagement under the new CEO. The thesis highlights ACGL's strong positioning, improved underwriting discipline, and growth potential, making it an attractive investment opportunity. The company's management is viewed positively, and the new CEO has deep experience at ACGL. With a conservative base case, the stock offers 39% upside to the target price. While this is our first coverage on Arch Capital Group, we've recently examined another on a stock in the same Insurance - Diversified that sheds light on similar long-term dynamics. A comparison of Arch Capital Group (ACGL) and Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (FIHL) reveals shared industry trends, but distinct strategic approaches. Both companies operate in a hard P&C insurance market, with FIHL's reinsurance and specialty lines businesses growing rapidly, and ACGL poised to benefit from continued rate increases and premium growth. However, FIHL's growth may be more vulnerable to shifting market conditions, whereas ACGL's improved underwriting discipline and diversified portfolio provide a more stable foundation. Additionally, while FIHL's management has successfully grown its book value per share, ACGL's management is viewed positively, with a new CEO having deep experience at the company. Overall, both companies offer attractive investment opportunities, but with differing risk profiles and growth strategies. ACGL isn't on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of ACGL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey. 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
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Interview with CEO of Via Rail
Atlantic Watch Mario Peloquin, CEO of Via Rail, talks about the oldest passenger train in North America.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Starbucks to shift to four-day work from office from three, says CEO
July 14 (Reuters) - Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab CEO Brian Niccol said the coffee giant will require many of its employees to work out of office for a minimum four days a week, from the current three, as part of a new policy expected to kick in later this year. The policy would include common days of work from Monday to Thursday, applicable to Seattle and Toronto support centers as well as regional officers in North America, Niccol said in a message shared, opens new tab with partners on the company's website on Monday. Niccol, who will complete a year in the job in less than two months, has been steering Starbucks back to its coffeehouse roots by focusing on enhancing in-store experience and reducing dependence on mobile and to-go orders. "Being in person also helps us build and strengthen our culture. As we work to turn the business around, all these things matter more than ever," Niccol said. "We want leaders and people managers to be physically present with their teams," he added. The four-day office work policy is expected to take effect from September 29. In February, the coffee chain operator asked the remotely working vice president level leadership to begin relocating to Seattle or Toronto. It is now extending this requirement to all support center people leaders, who are expected to move within 12 months. Starbucks has been accelerating the roll out of new staffing and service model across company-owned North American stores to revive sales growth after struggling in the face of rising inflation and economic uncertainty.
Arabian Business
6 hours ago
- Business
- Arabian Business
Etihad Airways carries 1.8m passengers in June as 2025 traffic tops 10m
Etihad Airways reported strong growth in June 2025, flying 1.8m passengers, a 16 per cent year-on-year increase, as it continues its strategic network expansion and strengthens its position as the fastest-growing airline in the Middle East. The airline's passenger load factor reached 88 per cent, up from 86 per cent in June 2024, highlighting Etihad's success in managing capacity while maintaining robust demand across its routes. The airline's operating fleet now comprises 101 aircraft, supporting its expanding network and ongoing service enhancements. Etihad passenger growth During the first half of 2025, Etihad welcomed 10.2m travellers on board, reflecting a 17 percent rise from the same period in 2024. The average passenger load factor for the year to date stands at an impressive 87 percent. Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: 'We are pleased to see continued momentum in our growth, with passenger numbers in June increasing by 17 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year, maintaining our position as the fastest-growing airline in the Middle East. 'Our year-to-date figures show that more than 10m guests have flown with us in 2025, and our rolling 12-month total has almost reached 20m as our customers continue to place their trust in our service. 'Our route expansion continued in June as we began operating to Prague and Warsaw for the first time and resumed five seasonal routes to summer hotspots Nice Malaga Mykonos Santorini Antalya'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
This car-repair chain's revenue skyrocketed 130x in the past five years—and 83% of its workforce doesn't have a college degree, including its CEO
Matt Ebert, founder and CEO of Crash Champions, grew up with modest means and no expectation of attending college, but his passion for cars and entrepreneurial spirit led him into the collision-repair industry after fixing his own wrecked car as a teenager. Starting with a single shop in 1999, Ebert expanded Crash Champions into a national powerhouse with more than 650 locations and $2.75 billion in revenue, largely employing workers without college degrees. When Matt Ebert speaks about his car-collision repair shop empire, he does so in a humble way, like his beginnings. The CEO of Crash Champions, which reported $2.75 billion in revenue last year, came from a small town in Illinois, where earning a college degree was neither a given nor an expectation. 'We didn't have much from a financial standpoint,' he told Fortune. 'College and big career planning weren't ever a discussion in my family.' Ebert had an entrepreneurial spirit and started mowing lawns for people at age 10 or 11. His real interest, though, was cars, and he couldn't wait to open the hood on his first car, change its oil, and take its wheels off. 'For me, a car meant freedom,' he recalled. 'I still remember the first time I was in a car by myself, thinking about how I could go anywhere I want right now.' But at age 16, he wrecked his first car: a two-seater Ford EXP. Not wanting to make an insurance claim or get his insurance canceled, he visited a local car repairman and asked him if he could show Ebert how to fix his car. The repairman did, and that launched Ebert into a career of repairing cars. Ebert took a job with the repairman after high school, therefore coming 'literally, by accident' into the industry. Now he oversees a company that's seen 130x revenue growth since 2019 and employs more than 10,000 people. And like Ebert, 83% of his workforce doesn't have a college degree. 'I've done really, really well in life not having gone to college,' he said. 'And I'm not anti-college. I think there's definitely things that college is great for. But I also know that it's not an opportunity for everyone.' Ebert's company is ahead of the curve when it comes to employing people without a four-year degree. College has historically been viewed as a one-way ticket to a lucrative career, but younger generations are starting to catch on it's not the only path to success. Many Gen Zers are taking trade jobs and aren't burdened by student loan debt. Plus, some make more than six figures doing so. At Crash Champions, technicians make more than $100,000 a year, Ebert said. In the first quarter of 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the median weekly earnings of the nation's 120.9 million full-time wage and salary workers was $1,194, which equates to roughly $62,000 annually. That means Crash Champions workers make about 1.6 times that of the average U.S. worker. 'We view college as a bonus, not a requirement,' Ebert said. Of course, there are certain positions that require a specific degree, he added, like how their controller and chief legal officer needed degrees. Despite not requiring college degrees for most of its jobs, Crash Champions focuses on continued learning. It created a leadership development program focused on topics like culture and retention, financial and operational leadership, strategic leadership, communication and recognition, continuous learning, as well as delegation mastery and team employment. Thousands of employees have participated in these programs. 'We can recruit the best technicians. We can train the best technicians, [but] if they're working for bad managers, they'll leave and go elsewhere,' Ebert said. Crash Champions also offers an apprenticeship program where the company can 'start technicians from scratch,' he said. They're placed with a team member whom they work with for a couple of years then are off on their own. Ebert credits his employees with many of the company's accomplishments. 'A key to my success has been surrounding myself with better people, smarter people than me, people that have done things that I haven't done,' he said. Still, Ebert was the mastermind behind the company. After high school he moved up to the suburbs of Chicago and stayed with his grandparents for a couple of years and got a job at a body shop. At the time, he still wanted to start his own business, but 'being a young kid who didn't know anybody,' he knew that would be a challenge, and said starting his own body shop would be 'a little over [his] head.' With an entrepreneurial spirit, though, Ebert researched different businesses and eventually opened his own Subway franchise by cash-advancing $100,000 on credit cards. Although that first location didn't make any money, he decided to open a second 'thinking that was going to be the path to making money.' But he was wrong. That one didn't make money either. So with that, he went back to his car-repair roots and approached a local car repairman, and they opened a body shop together in 1999, when Ebert was 26. His business partner, who was 20 years older than he was, retired in 2014 and sold the business to Ebert. That became the start of Crash Champions, which was first named New Lenox Auto Body after a town in Illinois. Ebert changed the name of his business to Crash Champions, which originates from the idea that the body shop is a hero in a customer's time of need after an accident. 'I wanted to make the shops nice, tear down some of those stereotypes, make it a place that people would want to come, a place that people would want to work,' he explained. After taking over the business, Ebert knew he wanted to expand, and he acquired a struggling body shop—which quickly snowballed into buying the business's third and fourth locations, all within about a year. At the time, Ebert was still using Small Business Administration financing, and 'basically grew it as far as' he could in the Chicago area. He wanted to acquire more shops, but couldn't with SBA financing, so he worked with an investment banker who suggested private equity as an alternative to debt. Ebert was initially hesitant to do that, but he recognized industry trends like tech advancements in vehicle repair would require more capital. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a shift in strategy, but Ebert also saw a need for his business model on a national scale. Crash Champions' major growth came in 2021. Service King Collision, another large auto body repair company, had grown too quickly and made poor business decisions, leading it to financial trouble. Debt was coming due in 2022 and the company wasn't going to be able to pay. The bondholders, mainly Clearlake Capital, would likely take it over, so Ebert proactively contacted Clearlake to merge Service King's business with Crash Champions to expand his business. Those turned into 330 of Crash Champions' current 650 locations, and the company saw its revenue skyrocket from $327.1 million in revenue in 2021 to $2.1 billion in 2022. For this year, it's projecting around $3 billion and plans to 'ramp [up] growth next year,' Ebert said. 'I don't want to stop until we're number one. We're the third largest in the country today,' Ebert said, referencing Caliber Collision and Gerber Collision & Glass. 'There's a ton of growth ahead for the company. We slowed a little bit here in the last year or two, because we grew so fast, and we wanted to get more sophisticated and more ready to be even bigger.' 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