Latest news with #capitalallocation
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Exxon to Keep Investing in Growth Even at $50-a-Barrel Oil
Exxon Mobil Corp. will keep its capital allocation plans intact even if oil declines toward $50 a barrel, Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said. Late last year, the Texas oil giant stress-tested its business at 'more punitive scenarios' than the current environment and brought the results to the board, Woods said at Exxon's annual meeting Wednesday. The result is that the company will continue investing in new projects and returning cash to shareholders even if oil declines from the current $65 a barrel.
Skift
20-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
First Hospitality Opens Up Investment Arm to Outside Capital
Baird reported on investor meetings they held with Summit Hotels management. Their takeaways included that INN believes lodging fundamentals are stable, with a 5% drop in RevPAR for the same store portfolio in April. When you exclude the Easter shift and last year's eclipse, INN said normalized performance would have been flattish. They have seen softer demand in recent weeks with a shorter booking window, but have not seen incremental demand deterioration in April and so far in May. Corporate transient demand has held in reasonably well with no broad-based cancellations. Government demand is down 20% to 25%, and INN's portfolio has been the subject of cancellations from Canadian travelers in Boston, Scottsdale, and South Florida. They used the description stable to describe expenses and margins as well, which is good news. On the capital allocation front, INN management told investors they are committed to repurchasing shares under its newly authorized $50 million program. Baird said their sense is that the company is already an active repurchaser. First Hospitality has opened up its decades-old investment arm, First Investors, to outside capital and launched the First Investors GP Fund to deploy $400 million in hotel acquisitions. The GP Fund is expected to supply sponsor capital for investment in six to ten hotels over the next two to three years, targeting 150 to 350 key premium-branded or independent lifestyle hotels in growth markets. The GP Fund platform is led by First Hospitality CEO David Duncan. About 20% of the fund will be First Hospitality's own capital. The GP Fund platform is led by Duncan and governed by an ownership group under Executive Chairman Sam Schwartz and Founder and Chairman Emeritus Stephen Schwartz. The first AC Hotel by Marriott in Kansas will open its doors on July 16, 2025. The AC Hotel Wichita Downtown will be in the restored Brown/Broadway Plaza Building. The 118-room boutique property will offer European-inspired accommodations in Kansas, tapas-style dining, flexible meeting space, and one of the largest hotel fitness centers in the region. Greenwood Hospitality, a strategic partner of Hotel Equities, will manage the AC Hotel Wichita Downtown. The Commercial Observer reported that the first casualty of the Los Angeles City Council voting to raise the minimum wage for hospitality workers to $30 an hour is the Hilton Los Angeles Universal City Hotel's expansion plans. Sun Hill Properties manages the 495-room hotel, and they had already signed a room block agreement to reserve hundreds of rooms for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The future of the $250 million expansion that was expected for that is now in doubt. The expansion would have added 395 rooms. If this goes through, that minimum wage would be the highest in the United States. Unite Here's (typical) response was to call the industry participants 'chicken little,' saying this must end. IHG Hotels & Resorts, in collaboration with owner DM Miramar Beach Hotel LLC and management DHRUV Management, finalized the opening of a newly converted Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in Destin, FL. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Destin - Miramar Beach offers 74 guest rooms, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center. It is located across from what is described as the nation's largest shopping outlet, Silver Sands Premium Outlets. The Kissimmee Place Development Group has proposed a 60,000-square-foot Hyatt Studios hotel with 3,000 square feet of conference space at the Florida city's airport. The hotel is one of two that the Cape Canaveral-based developer has proposed on city-owned land. The city is going to consider this proposal, which also includes the addition of a flight training campus for the rest of the property. Hard Rock International unveiled development plans for REVERB by Hard Rock Mazatlan, Mexico. Operadora Martres S.A. de C.V. is the project developer. The new build project is expected to open in June 2028 with 170 rooms with beachfront views. The Rosewood Mandarina in Nayarit, Mexico, opened, Rosewood's fourth property in Mexico. RLH Properties developed the resort and includes 134 ultra-luxury accommodations, including three specialty suites and two expansive standalone villas offering private plunge pools, expansive terraces, and bespoke design elements. The highlight of the rooms is the Canalan Beachfront Villas and the Cora Four Bedroom Mountaintop Villa, complete with infinity pools. Amenities include the Mandarina Golf Club, multiple dining venues that will continue to open through the year, four oceanfront pools, a fitness center, and the signature Asaya Spa. The Gold N Silver Inn in Reno, NV, will be undergoing significant renovations. Jacobs Entertainment owns the property and has pledged to preserve the inn with the renovations. The Inn's breakfast and lunch items will remain, but will be joined by new offerings. The Inn will close temporarily on June 1 with plans to reopen in time for New Year's Eve. The renovations are part of Jacobs Entertainment's broader investment in downtown Reno, with projects also being done on the J Resort and the J Resort's Reno Neon Line. Five parcels of land tied to the Reno Kimpton project were sold in a quiet auction at the Washoe County, NV courthouse steps. The trustee sale resulted in only one bidder, Court Street Ventures LLC, bidding $1 million. This is the LLC that triggered the foreclosure sale of the parcels over an $11.3 million loan to project developer CAI Reno Hotel Partners LLC, which went into default last year. Court Street Ventures is still locked in a legal battle with CAI over the Reno Kimpton project's bankruptcy, but Court Street said they plan to sell the property so they can recover as much as they can. CAI filed for Chapter 11 last year while continuing operations. Court Street wants it converted to a Chapter 7 to bring in a trustee to oversee and liquidate assets. A decision on the bankruptcy case will be made on June 2. CAI said they reached out to Court Street, offering a $2 million payment and payments of $1 million per month to delay the trustee sale until June 20th, but the offer was rejected. The 73-room Cobblestone Hotels & Suites has opened in Foley, Alabama. Eddie Spence of Gulf Shores is a partner with Cobblestone on the $10 million hotel development. This is the second Cobblestone hotel in Alabama. Cobblestone said they also plan to break ground on a 54-unit hotel off the two square in Bay Minette, with Spence also being a partner there. Personnel News Remington Hospitality announced the appointment of Ben Perelmuter as their new Chief Executive Officer effective June 2. Perelmuter joins Remington from TPG Hotels & Resorts where he was President and Chief Operating Officer. Perelmuter succeeds Dean Sloane who served as CEO for the past eight years. He announced in April he was leaving. Dreamscape Hospitality announced the appointment of Ryan Miyamoto as Vice President of Operations. He will oversee the operational performance of Dreamscape's portfolio. Miyamoto spent the past 18 years with Aimbridge Hospitality in various capacities, most recently as VP of Operations. Europe Highlights Hyatt Hotels has opened its first hotel in Croatia, the Hyatt Regency Zadar, located on the Adriatic Coast, close to Zadar's UNESCO-listed Old Town. Hyatt Regency Zadar features 133 guestrooms and suites, dining spaces, and over 7,965 square feet of event space.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Wynn Resorts Drops Plans to Seek New York City Casino License
Wynn Resorts Ltd. won't apply for a casino license in New York, citing a rezoning process and local opposition that makes the opportunity less attractive. The company has better uses of its capital, including share buybacks, rather than 'investing in an area in which we, or any casino operator, will face years of persistent opposition despite our willingness to employ 5,000 New Yorkers,' the company said in a statement Monday.
Globe and Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
AMD Announces New $6 Billion Share Repurchase Authorization
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced that its board of directors approved a new $6 billion share repurchase program. The new authorization is in addition to the remaining balance, as of March 29, 2025, of approximately $4 billion of its existing share repurchase program, increasing the total current repurchase authority to approximately $10 billion. 'Our expanded share repurchase program reflects the Board's confidence in AMD's strategic direction, growth prospects, and ability to consistently generate strong free cash flow,' said AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. 'We remain committed to disciplined capital allocation and driving strong shareholder returns, including investing in our leadership product portfolio to drive growth, while returning capital to owners.' The timing and total amount of stock repurchases will depend upon market conditions and may be made from time to time in open market purchases or privately negotiated purchases. This program has no termination date, may be suspended or discontinued at any time and does not obligate the company to acquire any amount of common stock. About AMD For more than 55 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies. AMD employees are focused on building leadership high-performance and adaptive products that push the boundaries of what is possible. Billions of people, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research institutions around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blo g, LinkedIn and X pages. Cautionary Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) including those related to AMD's share repurchase program; AMD's strategic direction, growth prospects and ability to consistently generate strong free cash flow; AMD's commitment to disciplined capital allocation and driving strong shareholder returns; AMD's investment in AMD's leadership product portfolio to drive growth; and AMD's ability to return capital to owners, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as "would," "may," "expects," "believes," "plans," "intends," "projects" and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Such statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond AMD's control, that could cause actual results and other future events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices; Nvidia's dominance in the graphics processing unit market and its aggressive business practices; competitive markets in which AMD's products are sold; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; market conditions of the industries in which AMD products are sold; AMD's ability to introduce products on a timely basis with expected features and performance levels; loss of a significant customer; economic and market uncertainty; quarterly and seasonal sales patterns; AMD's ability to adequately protect its technology or other intellectual property; unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations; ability of third party manufacturers to manufacture AMD's products on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies; availability of essential equipment, materials, substrates or manufacturing processes; ability to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD's products; AMD's ability to generate revenue from its semi-custom SoC products; potential security vulnerabilities; potential security incidents including IT outages, data loss, data breaches and cyberattacks; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products; AMD's reliance on third-party intellectual property to design and introduce new products; AMD's reliance on third-party companies for design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software, memory and other computer platform components; AMD's reliance on Microsoft and other software vendors' support to design and develop software to run on AMD's products; AMD's reliance on third-party distributors and add-in-board partners; impact of modification or interruption of AMD's internal business processes and information systems; compatibility of AMD's products with some or all industry-standard software and hardware; costs related to defective products; efficiency of AMD's supply chain; AMD's ability to rely on third party supply-chain logistics functions; AMD's ability to effectively control sales of its products on the gray market; long-term impact of climate change on AMD's business; impact of government actions and regulations such as export regulations, tariffs and trade protection measures, and licensing requirements; AMD's ability to realize its deferred tax assets; potential tax liabilities; current and future claims and litigation; impact of environmental laws, conflict minerals related provisions and other laws or regulations; evolving expectations from governments, investors, customers and other stakeholders regarding corporate responsibility matters; issues related to the responsible use of AI; restrictions imposed by agreements governing AMD's notes, the guarantees of Xilinx's notes, the revolving credit agreement and the ZT Systems credit agreement; impact of acquisitions, joint ventures and/or strategic investments on AMD's business and AMD's ability to integrate acquired businesses, including ZT Systems; AMD's ability to sell the ZT Systems manufacturing business; impact of any impairment of the combined company's assets; political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters; future impairments of technology license purchases; AMD's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; and AMD's stock price volatility. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD's most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. Media Contact: Phil Hughes AMD Communications 512-865-9697 Investor Contact: Liz Stine AMD Investor Relations 720-652-3965
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Berkshire Hathaway Never Paid Dividends Under Warren Buffett. Here's Why That Could Change With Greg Abel as CEO
How companies choose to allocate capital can affect their stock performance over time. Dividends can be an effective way for low-growth companies to routinely reward shareholders. Berkshire is becoming less of an investment company and more of a conglomerate. 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway › Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) is the quintessential value stock in almost every category. It has a diversified portfolio of controlled businesses, positions in equity securities, and an impeccable balance sheet. But Berkshire has never paid a dividend -- which is fairly unusual for a value-focused company. Here's why Warren Buffett prefers buybacks over dividends, and why I think Berkshire's new CEO (as of Jan. 1, 2026), Greg Abel, may change that policy. Between 1965 and 2024, Berkshire averaged a 19.9% compounded annual gain, compared to 10.4% for the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested. Most of those gains came from savvy stock purchases, acquisitions, and reinvesting in its controlled businesses -- not returning capital to shareholders. However, Berkshire's Board of Directors formally authorized a share repurchase program in September 2011. This allowed the company to repurchase shares "at prices no higher than 10% over the then-current book value of the shares." The threshold was later changed to a 20% premium. Then the rule was more or less eliminated in recent years, as Berkshire had 24 consecutive quarters of buying back stock even when its price-to-book was inflated. However, Berkshire hasn't made any buybacks since second-quarter 2024 -- a sign that management may not view the stock as a compelling bargain right now. To understand why Buffett has long preferred to use excess capital to repurchase stock and not pay dividends, it's helpful to know the different ways companies can use capital. Most companies start out by borrowing money because they have some really good ideas and need that capital to finance those ideas. Then as they become profitable, they may want to use those profits to act on even more ideas and grow the business further without taking on too much debt. As companies mature, they may generate more capital than needed, so they elect to return some of that capital directly to shareholders. The two main ways to return capital are stock repurchases and dividends. Stock buybacks reduce the outstanding share count, which increases earnings per share and makes the stock a better value over time. Buybacks are inherently a more bullish bet than dividends because dividends provide a one-off benefit, whereas buybacks have lasting effects and are a better use of capital as long as the stock price does well over time. Apple and Visa use the vast majority of their capital return programs on buybacks. That strategy has been massively successful, given both companies' long-term appreciation in value. In comparison, longtime Berkshire holding Coca-Cola uses most of its capital return program on dividends. It has a 63-year streak of raising its payout. How a company allocates capital affects its investment thesis and shareholder expectations. If a company pours all its profits back into the business, it puts pressure on those ideas to produce results. However, if it pays a sizable and steadily growing dividend, investors probably won't expect as much earnings growth. When Berkshire was smaller, it made more sense to have capital readily available to pounce on an investment opportunity. But Berkshire has been a net seller of stock in recent years. As of March 31, it had more cash, cash equivalents, and Treasury bills than the value of its entire public equity portfolio. Its insurance businesses, BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and its slew of manufacturing, service, and retail businesses are worth around double its public equity portfolio. Today, Berkshire resembles a conglomerate more than an investment company. Buffett has repeatedly stated that it's much harder for Berkshire to buy stocks now than when it was smaller, because it takes so much to move the needle. Berkshire sports a market cap of $1.11 trillion at the time of this writing. This means that if Berkshire bought an $11 billion stake in a stock and the position doubled, it would theoretically only affect Berkshire's market cap by 1%. So Berkshire is essentially limited to making massive stock purchases, like it successfully did with Apple, or simply growing its controlled businesses. Greg Abel has done a masterful job expanding Berkshire Hathaway Energy and leading Berkshire's controlled businesses outside of insurance. Most of these businesses aren't high-octane growth companies. Rather, they are steady stalwarts that would likely pay dividends if they were independent. So if Abel continues to focus on controlled businesses when he's CEO, rather than buying pieces of public equities, it would make sense for Berkshire's capital return program to reflect that shift. Given Berkshire's size and success with growing controlled asset operating earnings, it should expand its capital return program to include dividends. However, I would expect Berkshire to stage in a dividend by having a low yield for a while, and then building up the payout over time as its operating earnings grow. If Berkshire paid a dividend, it would make the investment thesis more attractive to folks looking to generate passive income from growing businesses. Because Berkshire has so much cash on its balance sheet, it should be able to support a stable and growing payout without damaging its financial health. Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Berkshire Hathaway 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 $614,911!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $714,958!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 907% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 163% 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 May 5, 2025 Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Berkshire Hathaway Never Paid Dividends Under Warren Buffett. Here's Why That Could Change With Greg Abel as CEO was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
