The Newport headquartered business is expecting revenues to reach £200m next year

Premier Forest Products has reported surging revenues through its strategy of acquisition and organic growth.

Over the last year the Newport headquartered business has made a number of key acquisitions, including timber engineering specialist National Timber Systems and multiple former Arnold Laver sites from National Timber Group England.

These additions have further strengthened Premier Forest’s capabilities across timber distribution, manufacturing, and logistics. The business, one of the UK’s leading independent timber and timber processing groups, said that audited revenues for its last financial to the end of April this year are expected to come in at £125m, while for its current 2026/27 year revenues are expected to rise significantly to £200m.

The company said it has delivered this growth despite continued economic pressure across the sector including fiscal changes, rising operational costs and ongoing geopolitical instability impacting global trade.

Head count has grown from 400 employees to almost 800 across the group following the acquisitions, while the HR function has doubled in size to support workforce development. It has also strengthened its senior leadership team through a series of strategic appointments and promotions, including the promotion of Neil Davies from chief financial officer to chief financial and operating officer.

Alongside commercial performance, Premier Forest said its environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments are increasingly influencing customer relationships and procurement opportunities.

The business continues to expand programmes around its corporate parenting scheme with a new cohort joining the group in July, its prisoner rehabilitation scheme, military covenant commitments and employment support initiatives, with these projects now forming an important part of major framework discussions and tender opportunities. It also recently expanded banking facilities with HSBC which will support continued investment and ensure the business remains agile for future acquisition opportunities as the market evolves.

Terry Edgell, co-founder and chief executive of Premier Forest Products, said: “The market has remained difficult for many businesses, particularly with ongoing fiscal pressures and the wider impact of geopolitical uncertainty on trading conditions.

Our approach has been to continue investing in infrastructure, in systems, in capability and most importantly in people so we are ready to capitalise when markets strengthen again.

“ESG and social value are no longer secondary conversations, they are central to how major organisations select partners. What’s important for us is that these initiatives are authentic and embedded into the culture of the business, not simply box-ticking exercises.

“We’ve built strong momentum over the last year, but ultimately our success comes down to our people. It is the talent within the organisation that drives Premier Forest forward.”

Mr Davies said: “Premier Forest has continued to evolve rapidly, with the business delivering significant growth over the last year through strategic acquisitions, expansion across key markets, and continued investment throughout the group. This progress has further strengthened our market position and created a broader, more resilient platform for future development.

The next 12 months will be an important period for the business as we continue integrating our recent acquisitions, strengthening operations across the group, and building on the momentum we have created.

“With a growing national presence, an expanding customer base, and continued focus on operational excellence, the business is well positioned to support further sustainable long-term growth.”

TORONTO — A deal that would send Kawhi Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors appears increasingly likely, but the Los Angeles Clippers and Raptors remain stuck on one central sticking point: which of Toronto’s young players will be included in the return package.

Leonard, the two-time NBA champion and former Raptors Finals MVP, has reportedly told teams he will only sign a contract extension with Toronto if traded, a stance that has significantly narrowed his market and given the Raptors meaningful leverage in negotiations with Los Angeles. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that a trade could happen as soon as Monday, while NBA insiders have separately confirmed that the Clippers and Raptors are “seriously engaged” in discussions that have stretched on for more than a week.

The core obstacle, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, centers on the Raptors’ refusal to include two specific players in any potential deal. Grange reported that second-year wing Ja’Kobe Walter would not be part of any package Toronto offers, adding that rookie Collin Murray-Boyles is similarly considered off-limits.

“Plenty of noise around Leonard/Clippers/Raptors potential deal, but my understanding is second-year wing Ja’Kobe Walter would NOT be part of any deal the Raptors might make, per sources,” Grange wrote. “It almost goes without saying prize rookie Colin Murray-Boyles is off limits also.”

Murray-Boyles, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, emerged as one of the league’s most promising rookies last season, averaging 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team and establishing himself as one of the NBA’s better young defenders. He raised his game further during Toronto’s playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, reinforcing the Raptors’ view of him as a potential long-term cornerstone. Given that Los Angeles is parting with its best remaining player, the Clippers naturally view Murray-Boyles as the centerpiece they would want in return, but Toronto has made clear that asset will not be on the table.

Walter, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has also shown steady growth across his first two professional seasons. He started five of Toronto’s seven playoff games against Cleveland this past season and averaged 11.1 points during that postseason stretch, building on a regular season in which he finished as the only Raptor attempting at least three 3-pointers per game while shooting 40% from beyond the arc. Walter remains ineligible for a contract extension until next offseason and is expected to come off Toronto’s bench next year, but his demonstrated trajectory has been enough for the Raptors to shield him from trade discussions as well.

With both Murray-Boyles and Walter ruled out, reporting indicates the most frequently discussed trade framework would send forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick and draft compensation to Los Angeles in exchange for Leonard. Ingram, an All-Star for Toronto last season who averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists, is under contract for just two more seasons, giving the Clippers a high-production piece with future financial flexibility. Dick, 23, struggled through a down season averaging just 6.0 points but remains viewed as a high-upside shooter who some analysts believe could thrive in a different system in Los Angeles.

Despite Ingram’s inclusion, the Clippers reportedly view that offer as lopsided in Toronto’s favor. Los Angeles remains far more interested in extracting Murray-Boyles specifically, but with the Raptors holding firm, the two sides have yet to find common ground on what would satisfy both franchises. Some reporting has floated an alternative package built around Walter, Ingram and a future first-round pick as potentially the best offer the Clippers could realistically extract from Toronto, though that scenario has not been confirmed as an active proposal and would still leave the final decision in Los Angeles’ hands on whether to accept terms that exclude its preferred target.

Leonard’s situation carries additional complexity beyond the trade framework itself. He is entering the final year of his contract, worth more than $50 million, and the NBA is separately investigating whether Leonard and the Clippers circumvented the salary cap through a sponsorship agreement tied to the now-defunct company Aspiration. Should the league determine wrongdoing occurred, Leonard’s contract could potentially be voided altogether, adding a layer of uncertainty that looms over any trade discussion regardless of which assets ultimately change hands.

Even setting aside that investigation, Leonard’s age and recent injury history have shaped how aggressively the Raptors are willing to negotiate. Now 35 and coming off a season in which he averaged a career-best 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals across 65 games while shooting over 50% from the field and 38% from three-point range, Leonard remains an elite offensive talent when healthy. But his extensive injury history over the past several seasons has tempered how much young, controllable talent Toronto is willing to surrender for what could ultimately amount to a single fully healthy season before Leonard’s career winds down.

Leonard previously spent one season with the Raptors in 2019, leading the franchise to its first and only NBA championship before departing that summer to join the Clippers. His tenure in Los Angeles has since been marked by a pattern of disappointing playoff results and recurring injury setbacks, a history that has fueled speculation about a potential homecoming as Toronto looks to elevate itself back into legitimate championship contention.

For now, with the Raptors unwilling to part with either of their most promising young building blocks and the Clippers unconvinced that the offers on the table represent fair value for their franchise player, the two sides remain at an impasse even as both have continued engaging in what league sources describe as serious, ongoing negotiations. Whether Toronto’s leverage, rooted in Leonard’s stated preference to sign an extension only with the Raptors, ultimately forces Los Angeles to accept a deal built around Ingram, Dick and draft compensation rather than Murray-Boyles or Walter will likely determine whether this blockbuster trade comes together in the days ahead or stalls out entirely as free agency proceeds elsewhere around the league.

A year into the job, Britain’s Small Business Commissioner is about to be handed real teeth, and she intends to use them.

Emma Jones CBE has marked her first anniversary as the UK’s Small Business Commissioner, capping twelve months of hard campaigning on behalf of the country’s 5.5 million small firms with the prospect of the most far-reaching shake-up of payment law in a generation. Since taking up the role, the Enterprise Nation founder has trained her attention on speeding up payment times, putting digital tools to work for small traders, and protecting the cash flow that keeps the nation’s smallest businesses alive.

The timing is no accident. Her milestone arrives just as the government’s Commercial Payments Bill, also referred to as the Small Business Protections Bill, completes its passage into Parliament. The legislation is designed to give Britain the toughest late payment regime in the G7 and, crucially, to convert the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC) from a mediation service into a genuine enforcement body with the power to investigate and to fine.

For anyone who has run a small business, the problem it targets needs little explanation. Late payment drains an estimated £11 billion from the economy every year, and the human cost behind that figure is what Jones returns to again and again.

“Having started, scaled, and sold businesses myself, I know first-hand how draining it is to chase the money you have already rightfully earned,” she said, reflecting on her first year. “This year, our small but mighty team has focused heavily on reducing the hours business owners waste on non-productive tasks so they can reinvest that energy back into growth.”

She is blunt about the scale of the drag. “Late payment isn’t just an administrative inconvenience, it is a massive barrier to excelling,” she said. Joint research from the Department for Business and Trade and the OSBC, she noted, shows UK small businesses lose a staggering 133 million hours of staff time every year purely chasing overdue invoices, an average of 86 hours for every affected firm. “This is time stolen directly from product development, training, and expanding operations. As we look to the year ahead, the new legislation represents a monumental shift. It gives us the teeth we need to end this culture of delay and unlock the full potential of our small business community.”

Jones has spent her opening year reshaping how the OSBC reaches and supports small firms. Acting as an independent advocate for micro-businesses and SMEs squeezed by large corporate supply chains, her office has clawed back £1.5 million for small businesses caught out by late payment, building on the Commissioner’s wider track record of recovering money owed to suppliers.

On the digital front, she has published fresh guidance alongside a payment pledge signed by major UK eCommerce marketplaces including eBay, Temu, PayPal and SumUp, and produced AI advice tailored to small firms. Behind the scenes, she has worked closely with the Department for Business and Trade and research partners to lay the groundwork for the incoming Bill, drawing on international best practice to shape it.

Cultural change has been a constant theme. More than 600 businesses across the UK have now signed up to the Fair Payment Code, among them HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Nationwide, Heathrow Airport, Amey, Kier, AXA, Boeing, BT and Welsh Water. Jones has also grown the office’s social media reach and launched an interview series, ‘Get the money moving’, with leading voices in the fair payment space. In person, she has met more than 5,000 people and run monthly SME Safaris, sending civil servants out to meet founders in their real trading environments.

The year ahead will be defined by readying the business community for the Commercial Payments (Late Payments) Bill now making its way through Parliament. The government has billed the package as the toughest crackdown on late payments in over 25 years, and the detail bears that out.

Under the reforms, the Commissioner will gain powers to investigate the persistent poor payment practices of larger businesses, adjudicate disputes outside the court system, and levy financial penalties on repeat offenders that could run into tens of millions of pounds. The OSBC will also be able to act on anonymous complaints, shielding small suppliers from the threat of corporate retaliation when they speak up.

Two further measures go to the heart of the cash flow problem. Large companies will be capped at a maximum of 60 days’ payment terms when dealing with smaller suppliers, and statutory interest of 8% above the Bank of England base rate will apply automatically to overdue invoices, stripping away a firm’s ability to contract out of late fees. The new powers for the Commissioner were confirmed when the Bill was introduced to Parliament, alongside the wider crackdown on firms that pay late.

Before the legislation takes effect, Jones is focused on keeping the quality of casework and support high, welcoming more firms onto the Fair Payment Code, and exploring a future in which the office covers some of its own costs while positioning the UK as a global leader in the shift to a prompt payment economy.

After a year of persuasion, in other words, the Commissioner is preparing for a year of enforcement. For the 5.5 million small businesses she represents, the difference could be measured in both hours and pounds.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

NEW YORK — Savannah Guthrie may be forced to step away from her role as “Today” co-anchor for a second time, according to a person close to the situation cited by The U.S. Sun, as new developments in the nearly five-month-old disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, continue to weigh heavily on the broadcaster.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing since Feb. 1, when she was reported absent from her Tucson, Arizona, home after failing to attend a scheduled church service. Investigators have said evidence found at the scene, including blood and signs of forced entry, points to a violent struggle, and the case has since been treated as a likely abduction. Savannah Guthrie took a leave of absence from “Today” in the immediate aftermath of her mother’s disappearance before making an emotional return to the anchor desk on April 6.

The renewed possibility of another leave comes after a new ransom note surfaced, sent to TMZ and reportedly claiming that Nancy Guthrie is no longer alive. According to reporting on the note’s contents, the sender also claimed to possess video evidence of those allegedly responsible for her disappearance, asserting it could “deliver them on a silver platter” if certain demands were met. As of this report, authorities have not publicly confirmed the authenticity of the note, and no suspects or persons of interest have been formally named by either the Pima County Sheriff’s Department or the FBI as the investigation approaches the five-month mark.

A source described to The U.S. Sun the strain the situation has placed on Guthrie personally, characterizing her as someone who is “holding it together” even as the emotional weight of the case becomes harder to manage privately while continuing to appear on national television each morning.

According to that source, NBC executives are reportedly preparing contingency plans in case Guthrie needs to step away from her on-air duties again, potentially with little advance notice. The source indicated that network leadership hopes she will be able to continue working through the ongoing investigation, while also acknowledging the possibility that she may need to leave the anchor desk unexpectedly given the unpredictable nature of new developments in her mother’s case.

Hoda Kotb, who previously stepped back into the lead co-anchor role alongside Craig Melvin during Guthrie’s earlier leave of absence, is reportedly prepared to do so again if needed. The source framed any potential return by Kotb not as a permanent replacement, but as a supportive measure intended to give Guthrie room to focus on her family during an exceptionally difficult period.

“If Savannah needs her, she’ll be in that chair immediately. There wasn’t a second of hesitation,” the source said. “This isn’t about replacing Savannah. It’s about giving her the space to focus on finding her mother.”

The source also described the broader toll the prolonged investigation has taken on Guthrie behind the scenes, even as she has continued to maintain her public role.

“Savannah is determined not to let viewers down, but behind the scenes, everyone can see how emotionally drained she is. She’s running on pure courage,” the insider said.

Guthrie has not publicly confirmed any specific plans to step away from “Today” again, and NBC has not issued an official statement addressing the speculation reported by The U.S. Sun. The situation remains fluid, with developments in the investigation, including the latest ransom note, continuing to unfold in real time and shape how Guthrie and the network are navigating her on-air commitments.

The newest ransom note adds to a pattern of unverified communications that have surfaced periodically throughout the case. According to details reported on the note’s content, the sender claimed there were two individuals involved in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, including a primary figure described only as the “main guy,” and asserted that video evidence existed documenting the alleged abduction. In exchange for a substantial cryptocurrency payment, the sender claimed that Nancy Guthrie’s location would be easy to locate for anyone aware of where to look. Investigators have not confirmed whether any of these claims hold credibility, and similar unverified messages have surfaced multiple times since the case first began making national headlines in February.

Following news of the latest note, Guthrie addressed the situation directly during a recent broadcast of “Today,” choosing to speak briefly despite her general reluctance to comment on her family’s ongoing case while continuing to anchor the program.

“I can’t pretend I’m not here, and since I am, I just wanted to take the opportunity to ask people, really to beg people to come forward, somebody knows something,” Guthrie said on air.

That on-air appeal reflected a broader pattern that has defined much of Guthrie’s public response to her mother’s disappearance: a deliberate effort to continue performing her professional duties while periodically using her platform to renew pleas for public assistance in the case. Throughout the investigation, Guthrie and her siblings have repeatedly issued public statements and video messages directed at both the broader public and, at times, directly at those believed responsible for their mother’s disappearance, seeking any information that might help bring the case closer to resolution.

With the investigation still active and no confirmed suspects identified nearly five months after Nancy Guthrie vanished, the uncertainty surrounding both the case itself and Savannah Guthrie’s continued presence on “Today” appears likely to persist. For now, network insiders cited in recent reporting suggest NBC is treating any further absence as a real possibility rather than a remote contingency, underscoring just how unpredictable the situation has become for Guthrie and her family as they continue to wait for definitive answers about what happened to Nancy.

Acrol has been operating since the mid-1970s and its new owner has been backed by Mercia Debt Finance

A Tyneside air conditioning company has marked its 50th year with a management buyout backed by six-figure funding.

Acrol Air Condition employs 40 staff at its Gateshead base, from which it designs and installs systems for a range of industries. The firm has acquired by sales director Daniel Wood, who is also the son of one of the previous owners, in a deal backed by a £300,000 loan from NPIF II – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).

Arcrol was founded in Newcastle in the mid-1970s as a marine industry specialist before moving to Gateshead in 1993, at the time it was acquired by Daniel’s father Thomas Wood and business partner Mike Kears. Together they expanded beyond the marine industry, and the new deal will release their shareholding, though they will continue to work in the business.

Daniel Wood started working for the firm as an apprentice more than 20 years ago and will now become managing director. He has ambitions to boost turnover four-fold in the next five to 10 years, via winning more work in the renewables sector and exploring the datacentre market

He said: “When Tom and Mike took over Acrol, it was a small design house serving the marine industry. They did a great job by turning it into a one-stop shop with its own manufacturing facilities, strong equipment and material supply chains and a broad client base. It’s exciting to be taking over the business and I see plenty of scope to grow across all sectors including the ever expanding datacentre market.”

Acrol installs cooling and heat pump equipment ranging from small domestic systems up to industrial-scale systems serving large commercial sites. It can manufacture custom-built systems in house and also offers service and maintenance.

The company has provided equipment for locations ranging from a Newcastle police station and MTV’s London headquarters to ships in Taiwan. It is currently working on HMRC’s new regional centre in Newcastle.

Andy Clough of Mercia Debt added: “Air conditioning and heat pumps are in growing demand and modern systems combine both to create efficient climate control solutions. Acrol already has a proven track record for delivering large-scale projects nationwide. The funding has enabled Dan to take over the reins and he is now keen to take advantage of opportunities in this growing market.”

Peter Blackrock of Real Finance provided fundraising advice to Acrol, while Elephants Child acted as corporate finance advisers and TC Group provided accountancy services. Ignition Law provided legal advice to the company while Jacksons Law advised Dan Wood.

NPIF II – Mercia Debt Finance can provide investments in the NPIF II area with a primary focus on the Yorkshire and the Humber regions of North Yorkshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.

Tesla shares edged higher Tuesday, climbing 0.65% to $414.53, as investors looked ahead to the electric automaker’s pivotal second-quarter delivery report amid renewed optimism from Wall Street about a potential rebound in European and Chinese sales.

The modest gain comes after a volatile stretch for the stock, which has swung considerably in recent sessions as markets weighed Tesla’s near-term delivery trajectory against the longer-term narrative built around the company’s autonomous driving and robotics ambitions. Shares closed Monday at $409.09, down 0.67% on the day, after trading in a range between $379.30 and $413.27 during the session, reflecting the kind of intraday volatility that has become characteristic of the stock in recent weeks.

The most significant catalyst shaping sentiment heading into Tuesday’s session was a delivery forecast upgrade from Morgan Stanley, which raised its projection for Tesla’s second-quarter vehicle deliveries above the broader Wall Street consensus, citing signs of a rebound in sales across both Europe and China. The upgrade offers a notable counterpoint to concerns that have lingered over Tesla’s delivery trends for much of the year, with the upcoming Q2 delivery report widely viewed by analysts as a critical data point that could either reinforce confidence in a recovery or signal continued challenges with inventory management across key international markets.

Tesla has also continued to expand its presence in markets tied to its advanced driver-assistance technology. The company is working to broaden its reach in Europe, where a growing number of countries have moved to approve Tesla’s Full Self-Driving, supervised, technology for use, a regulatory expansion that analysts have flagged as a meaningful tailwind for the stock given how central autonomous driving capability has become to Tesla’s broader investment narrative.

Beyond the core automotive business, Tesla has continued building out partnerships tied to its energy operations. The company struck an agreement with residential solar provider Sunrun aimed at delivering power for data centers, part of a broader industry trend in which electric vehicle and clean energy companies are positioning themselves to capitalize on surging electricity demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure buildouts across the country.

Tesla’s regulatory standing has also seen recent improvement on at least one front. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed investigations tied to certain Model 3 and other vehicle issues in recent days, removing a source of overhang that had periodically weighed on investor sentiment toward the stock. At the same time, Tesla has faced a more unusual operational challenge in the form of rising vehicle battery theft, a problem one report described as having become “an epidemic” in certain markets, even as the stock continued climbing despite that specific headwind.

Wall Street’s broader view of Tesla remains sharply divided heading into the company’s delivery report. Some analysts have continued to argue that Tesla’s valuation hinges almost entirely on the pace and credibility of its artificial intelligence and autonomy ambitions, with one analyst note suggesting that Tesla stock is unlikely to consistently outperform the broader Nasdaq index until its Full Self-Driving technology reaches near-perfect reliability rates. Other commentary has framed Tesla’s bull case as one in which the company’s broader AI narrative, spanning autonomous driving, robotics and energy infrastructure, continues to outweigh more traditional valuation concerns tied to its core vehicle business, even as some investors have begun openly questioning whether the stock’s premium multiple can be sustained without clearer near-term financial results to support it.

Tesla’s stock performance over longer time horizons has lagged broader market benchmarks despite the company’s continued prominence in market commentary. Shares have risen roughly 69% over the past five years through late June, according to Motley Fool analysis, compared with an 85% total return for the S&P 500 over the same period, a gap that has surprised some investors given Tesla’s outsized presence in financial media and retail investor portfolios. The stock’s all-time closing high of $489.88 was reached on Dec. 16, 2025, with the 52-week trading range spanning from a low of $288.77, touched July 7, 2025, to a high of $498.83, reached Dec. 22, 2025.

Much of Tesla’s longer-term investment case continues to rest on two strategic pillars beyond its core vehicle manufacturing business: the Robotaxi autonomous ride-hailing service and the Optimus humanoid robot program. Tesla is preparing its Fremont, California, factory with the eventual goal of producing up to 1 million robots annually, part of an ambition Chief Executive Elon Musk has previously suggested could one day push Tesla’s total market capitalization as high as $25 trillion, should the Optimus program scale successfully. Analysts examining the company’s longer-term prospects have generally agreed that the timeline for both autonomous driving and robotics reaching meaningful financial scale remains highly uncertain, with some cautioning that Tesla’s current valuation already prices in an exceptionally optimistic outcome for both initiatives, leaving limited room for error if either program develops more slowly than the market currently anticipates.

Tesla’s broader competitive landscape within the electric vehicle sector has also factored into recent trading. Rival EV makers, including Rivian, Lucid Group and China’s XPeng, posted notable gains in recent sessions alongside Tesla, suggesting at least some of the sector’s recent momentum has been driven by broader industry sentiment rather than factors specific to any single company. Traditional automakers Ford and General Motors, by contrast, traded modestly lower over the same period, underscoring a continued divergence in investor enthusiasm between established legacy manufacturers and electric vehicle-focused companies.

With Tesla’s market capitalization sitting at approximately $1.55 trillion and the stock trading at a price-to-earnings ratio well above 300, the company’s valuation continues to reflect investor expectations that extend far beyond its current vehicle delivery and profitability trends. As the company approaches its formal second-quarter delivery announcement, investors are likely to parse the results closely for signs of whether Morgan Stanley’s more optimistic forecast for European and Chinese demand proves accurate, a data point that could meaningfully influence the stock’s trajectory heading into the second half of 2026, regardless of how the broader AI and robotics narrative continues to evolve in the months ahead.

WhatsApp is preparing to let its users start conversations without handing over the one piece of information most of us would rather keep to ourselves: our mobile number.

Instead, the Meta-owned messaging service will allow people to connect by exchanging unique usernames, a change that brings the world’s most-used chat app into line with rivals that have offered the feature for years.

The roll-out is being staged globally across WhatsApp’s three billion account holders over the coming months. From this week, users can begin reserving a name through the app, although doing so will not be compulsory. The company says people will be able to remove or change their username at any time, and that once the system is fully switched on, two users will be able to connect having shared nothing more than their handles. The familiar options to block or report unwanted contacts will remain in place.

How the new system works

Names will be capped at 35 characters, with relatively few restrictions beyond a carve-out for some high-profile officials and celebrities, whose names will be ring-fenced so they cannot be claimed by impersonators. In other words, WhatsApp is unlikely to be flooded with users styling themselves as Donald Trump.

Meta is framing the move squarely as a privacy feature. Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product, said she had heard repeatedly from users who did not always want to share their phone number simply to stay in touch, particularly within group chats. She said she hoped the change would “give users control over how they choose to show up” on the app.

The handles will be introduced “gradually over the coming months”, according to Meta, with users notified once their username goes live. Anyone wanting to get ahead can reserve a name now through their account or profile settings, where the option to claim a handle will appear as it becomes available.

For founders and owner-managers, there is a useful wrinkle. Creators, small businesses and organisations will be able to claim the username they already use on Instagram or Facebook, keeping their identity consistent across Meta’s estate. Everyone else who wants their WhatsApp handle to match those on other Meta apps will need to link their existing accounts through Accounts Centre, which in turn means some data, across services such as Threads and Messenger, is shared between those accounts. It is a trade-off worth understanding before you tick the box.

Some users have already grumbled on social media that the option to reserve a name has yet to appear for them. The company’s advice is straightforward: make sure you are running the latest version of the app and keep checking.

A familiar idea, finally arriving

WhatsApp is not breaking new ground here. The encrypted messaging app Signal introduced an almost identical feature in 2024, and the broader direction of travel, away from the phone number as a universal identifier, has been building for some time.

That context matters when weighing the privacy claims. “It is a good feature, but even if it does offer more privacy, remember WhatsApp is not a privacy-friendly app overall,” said Carisa Véliz, a professor at the University of Oxford and author of Privacy is Power. “It collects much metadata about users for marketing purposes. We have to remember that WhatsApp is owned by Meta, one of the tech companies with the worst track records when it comes to privacy.”

The distinction is an important one for any business relying on the platform. WhatsApp does not use the content of private chats for advertising; those messages are protected by end-to-end encryption, so the company cannot read them. It does, however, draw on other data, such as your general location and basic account details including age, to support advertising, a model explored in our coverage of Meta’s wider use of automation and user data.

Once the feature is fully live, individual phone numbers will no longer be visible inside WhatsApp. There will be no public username directory, and a phone number will still be needed to open an account in the first place. The handle changes who can find you, not whether you exist on the network.

The scam question

The obvious worry is that easier, number-free contact could hand fraudsters a fresh route in. Asked on X about safeguards, the company pointed to “multiple layers of defence”. Chief among them is an optional username key, a short numbered code that means someone can only message you if they hold both your username and that key, a detail confirmed by security outlet BleepingComputer. WhatsApp adds that its systems “detect and block abuse patterns” automatically, an approach SecurityWeek notes is designed to limit unsolicited first contact.

For SME owners who increasingly run customer service, bookings and sales through the app, the username key is the setting to watch. Used well, it offers a way to stay reachable to genuine customers while keeping the door shut to opportunists.

The platform’s minimum age remains 13, and messaging apps will sit outside the UK’s incoming social media restrictions for under-16s, due to take effect next year, a regulatory backdrop that has already drawn scrutiny in the debate over whether stricter rules could push encrypted services out of Britain and in earlier criticism of the app’s age policies.

New name, new boss

The username launch also lands during a change at the top. WhatsApp recently confirmed that Kunal Shah, founder of an Indian fintech start-up, will take over as head of the platform, with Will Cathcart stepping down after seven years in charge.

For now, the message to users and businesses alike is to reserve early, weigh up the Accounts Centre trade-off, and treat the username key as a feature rather than an afterthought. Whether it materially improves privacy or simply repackages it, the days of the phone number as your sole identity on WhatsApp look numbered.

Micron Technology shares slipped modestly Tuesday, trading at $1,138.50, down 0.59%, as Wall Street continued debating whether the stock’s blistering rally has run its course following one of the strongest quarterly earnings reports in the company’s history.

The pullback comes as Micron’s post-earnings surge appears to be cooling, with traders divided over the stock’s next move after a dramatic run that pushed shares to a 52-week high of $1,255 on June 25, just one day after the company reported record fiscal third-quarter results. The stock has since pulled back from that peak but remains up sharply from where it began the year, with the broader rally putting Micron’s market capitalization at roughly $1.29 trillion.

Micron’s fiscal third-quarter results, released June 24 for the period ended May 28, blew past Wall Street’s expectations across nearly every metric. Revenue surged almost 4.5 times year-over-year to $41.5 billion, far exceeding the consensus estimate of $35.1 billion. Earnings per share jumped 13-fold from the prior year to $25.11, also crushing analyst expectations of $20.39. The phenomenal demand for memory and storage chips used in AI accelerators and data centers, combined with persistent supply constraints, pushed Micron’s non-GAAP gross margin to 84.9% for the quarter, up dramatically from 39% a year earlier.

Looking ahead, Micron’s guidance for the current quarter pointed to continued explosive growth, with the midpoint of revenue guidance set at roughly $50 billion, implying another year-over-year increase of approximately 4 times, while earnings per share guidance points to growth of just over 10 times to $31.00 at the midpoint.

Perhaps the most significant detail from Micron’s earnings call involved the company’s shift toward long-term contracted revenue. Micron disclosed it had signed 16 strategic customer agreements during the quarter, with 14 of those representing a minimum contracted revenue commitment of $100 billion over the remaining life of the contracts. Micron structured these agreements as “take-or-pay” arrangements, meaning customers are bound to purchase a minimum volume of memory chips over the multi-year contract term or pay a fee regardless. That contracting strategy has led some analysts to argue Micron has effectively escaped the boom-and-bust cycles that have historically plagued the memory chip industry, where demand swings tied to smartphone and PC sales have periodically created painful oversupply and price collapses.

Reinforcing that long-term visibility, Micron announced a strategic agreement with AI company Anthropic on June 10 aimed at scaling next-generation AI infrastructure, a deal that analysts at Bank of America said locks in greater confidence in supply, demand and pricing visibility over a two-to-three-year horizon. Micron has continued expanding its manufacturing footprint as well, selecting construction firm Bechtel as its partner for a major semiconductor project in New York and advancing additional manufacturing expansion in Virginia, part of a broader push to scale domestic production capacity to meet what the company has described as memory chip shortages expected to persist at least until 2030, driven by AI data centers consuming an increasing share of global dynamic random-access memory supply.

Despite that bullish operational backdrop, some market voices have grown more cautious about the stock’s near-term trajectory following its extraordinary run. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria suggested that Micron and Nvidia are currently trading as though the broader artificial intelligence investment cycle is peaking, a view that has contributed to some of the recent volatility and profit-taking in shares of both companies. Separately, Micron has been named among memory makers facing a U.S. class-action lawsuit, according to a report from WCCF Tech, adding a legal overhang that some investors are monitoring even as the company’s fundamental performance remains strong. China Beige Book analyst Adnan Qazi has also raised a longer-term structural concern, warning that if China were to flood the global memory market with supply, it could pose a national security risk given the strategic importance of memory chips to AI infrastructure.

Wall Street’s broader consensus on the stock remains overwhelmingly positive even amid the recent debate over near-term direction. Among 29 analysts tracked by Public.com, the consensus rating stands at Buy, with 41% recommending a Strong Buy and 55% recommending Buy, while just 3% suggest holding and none recommend selling. The average price target sits at approximately $1,264.45, though some individual price targets have been considerably more bullish; one Motley Fool analysis argued the stock could climb to as high as $3,900 within a year, citing Micron’s forward earnings multiple of just 7.3 times, a valuation the analysis described as inexpensive relative to the company’s growth trajectory even after its dramatic 2026 rally.

Micron’s broader financial profile continues to reflect a company in the midst of a structural shift rather than a typical cyclical upswing. The company’s trailing 12-month revenue stands at roughly $90.3 billion, with a net margin of 55.89% and return on equity of 66.64%, figures that underscore just how dramatically profitability has improved alongside the surge in AI-driven memory demand. Micron’s debt-to-equity ratio remains relatively low at 5.68%, providing the company with continued financial flexibility to fund its aggressive manufacturing expansion plans across multiple countries, including ongoing projects in Taiwan, Singapore and India.

Micron also continues to pay a modest quarterly dividend, with its most recent payout set at 15 cents per share and an ex-dividend date of July 6. The company’s next earnings report is expected around Sept. 21, a date that will offer investors their next substantive opportunity to assess whether the explosive growth trajectory outlined in the company’s most recent guidance can be sustained, particularly as some analysts continue debating whether current memory chip pricing and AI-driven demand levels represent a durable new baseline or an unusually favorable peak in what has historically been one of the more cyclical corners of the semiconductor industry.