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This report contains independent commentary to be used for informational and educational purposes only. Michael Kramer is a member and investment adviser representative with Mott Capital Management. Mr. Kramer is not affiliated with this company and does not serve on the board of any related company that issued this stock. All opinions and analyses presented by Michael Kramer in this analysis or market report are solely Michael Kramer’s views. Readers should not treat any opinion, viewpoint, or prediction expressed by Michael Kramer as a specific solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell a particular security or follow a particular strategy. Michael Kramer’s analyses are based upon information and independent research that he considers reliable, but neither Michael Kramer nor Mott Capital Management guarantees its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. Michael Kramer is not under any obligation to update or correct any information presented in his analyses. Mr. Kramer’s statements, guidance, and opinions are subject to change without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Neither Michael Kramer nor Mott Capital Management guarantees any specific outcome or profit. You should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investment commentary presented in this analysis. Strategies or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value. Investments or strategies mentioned in this analysis may not be suitable for you. This material does not consider your particular investment objectives, financial situation, or needs and is not intended as a recommendation appropriate for you. You must make an independent decision regarding investments or strategies in this analysis. Upon request, the advisor will provide a list of all recommendations made during the past twelve months. Before acting on information in this analysis, you should consider whether it is suitable for your circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser to determine the suitability of any investment.

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In central Manchester, 23‑year‑old Ashleigh agrees with Joel that the state pension is unlikely to be coming her way: “At this rate I don’t think anyone’s ever going to retire, I think everyone will just have to fend for themselves in the end.”

But as someone on a lower income, her pension choices are less squirrel‑like. When working for a big retailer, she says that she chose to stop contributing to her employer’s auto-enrolment pension.

“I opted out of it. I need the money now.” She explains: “I’d rather save for a house and then at least I have something to show for it”.

Some experts warn that the gap between rich and poor in retirement could widen significantly for this generation.

Dr Suzy Morrissey, deputy director at the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), believes that alongside how much Gen Z save privately, another factor will widen the divide: far more of them will be renting.

“Renting in retirement increases your chances of pensioner poverty, and they do face challenges to save, as younger people, that previous generations didn’t face when they were at the same age,” she says. “If we have people paying rent in retirement who don’t have large pension pots to cover those expenses, then that equals higher risk of pensioner poverty.”

But Morrissey sees a silver lining: pensions auto-enrollment, the system that automatically puts most employees into a workplace pension unless they opt out. If they’ve been employees, “they will have spent their working life contributing into a pension pot, and they will be the first generation that will have spent their whole life doing that.”

It’ll be a backstop for many, but the minimum contribution rate is unlikely to be enough for a comfortable retirement. It’s not automatic for the self-employed and people like Ashleigh have opted out because of immediate financial pressures, so it looks like plenty won’t see the benefit of that silver lining.

Read the News: Resources for Forward-Looking Earnings Analysis

Ready to review a company‘s earnings report but need quick access to forward-looking nuggets of information? Our news coverage provides the content an analyst can use to add a long-term assessment.

The options:

Earnings Call Insights: These capsules provide quick access to forward-looking takeaways from an earnings report. For example, in an article detailing Cisco‘s last quarter, the Outlook section outlines what management anticipates for the coming quarter and fiscal year. The Analyst Q&A and Sentiment Analysis sections present more forward-looking details on what investors can expect for the company. And “Risks and Concerns” can add additional context for a risks section in an article.

Earnings Snapshots: These provide a quick and easy resource for double-checking numbers. The data can be useful for presenting additional analysis behind the earnings report. Cisco has this snapshot that provides both quarterly revenues and EPS along with guidance and key comments from the latest report.

Transcripts: These are helpful for adding in management comments for additional context. Transcripts (such as the latest from Intuitive Surgical) also ensure what‘s quoted in an article is accurate.

Earnings Call Presentations: These can be useful for charts, double-checking numbers, and for additional content that can be added into an earnings analysis. Sea Limited‘s presentation has charts detailing financial performance, a breakout of key segments, and financial statements.

Additional News Articles: Our news team provides a lot of content after a call. For example, there‘s this piece outlining the reaction from Wall Street analysts regarding CoreWeave‘s latest quarter. And the news doesn‘t stop earnings week. There‘s coverage of Sandisk‘s Investor Day. Developments have surfaced regarding Netflix‘s gaming future. Make sure to follow up with key developments if an article is still in the draft phase.

Look at News From Competitors/Peers: Additional resources and insight can be gained by reading news coverage from a company‘s competitors.

Make sure not to just recap the news – present your assessment of the developments, how they may impact your sentiment, and what this all means long-term for an investment. And consider reviewing content from other analysts to determine how an earnings assessment is unique compared to previous articles.

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Our earnings guidelines can be found here and here.

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Bret Jensen: Why Macro Matters

Bret Jensen has written for Seeking Alpha since 2010, attracting more than 58,000 followers. Along with covering biotech and insider activity, Jensen also frequently writes about macro topics.

Recently, Jensen shared his approach to covering macro developments and the reasons why the bigger macro issues may have large impacts on the markets, most of which investors may be missing.

While big spending on AI tech and the turmoil in energy created by the conflict with Iran may have captured investor interest, there‘s one key item Jensen frets about: the deterioration of the credit and sovereign debt markets.

Jensen shares his thoughts on why macro matters in this article.

Looking Ahead to September

September will wind down the third quarter earnings season as most major companies will have already reported for this cycle. However, there are still a smattering of highly followed and large-cap companies set to report throughout the month. So far the second quarter results (for most companies) have been extremely impressive, and we‘ve seen earnings and revenue beats exceed the average quarterly reporting periods.

Seeking Alpha Earnings Calendar

Week 1 (September 1-4)

The month starts with a few key companies reporting right out of the gate. On Tuesday we expect to see reports from Dell (DELL), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Medtronic (MDT), Credo Technology Group (CRDO), and MongoDB (MDB). Moving on to Wednesday, we see tech giant Broadcom (AVGO) leading the pack along with Snowflake (SNOW), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and NetApp (NTAP) on the docket.

We get a little less busy with the large caps on Thursday as Ciena (CIEN), Zscaler (ZS), and Samsara (IOT) are the only three reports featuring companies with market caps above $20B. Other reports due out include Guidewire (GWRE), lululemon (LULU), Docusign (DOCU), and UiPath (PATH). There aren‘t any major companies expected to report on Friday.

Week 2 (September 7-11)

Week 2 starts with a market holiday in the United States, and markets will be closed in observance of Labor Day. The only company with a market cap above $10B reporting on Tuesday is Casey‘s General Stores (CASY). Wednesday features three companies that breach the $10B mark with their market caps – Sunbelt Rentals (SUNB), The Cooper Companies (COO), and SailPoint (SAIL). Also of note on Wednesday is the highly followed Chewy (CHWY).

Moving on to Thursday, we get our biggest report of the week in the form of Adobe (ADBE), which is the only company reporting in week 2 with a market cap over $100B. Macy‘s (M) is also expected to report on Thursday. The only notable report expected on Friday is from grocery retailer Kroger (KR).

Week 3 (September 14-18)

As we move to week 3, there’s a tremendous drop-off in the number of key companies reporting. In fact, during the first three days of the week, there are only two companies with billion-dollar market caps set to report: Kestra Medical Technologies (KMTS) on Monday and LuxExperience (LUXE) on Wednesday.

The biggest report of the week will be Lennar (LEN), and that’s due out on Thursday. Tamboran Resources (TBN) is the last company with a billion-dollar market cap reporting, and it’s due out on Friday.

Week 4 (September 21-25)

Looking out to week four, we see a few decent-sized companies reporting on Tuesday in the way of AutoZone (AZO) and TD SYNNEX (SNX). Wednesday shows General Mills (GIS) and KB Home (KBH) headlining the reports.

Thursday is by far the biggest day of the week, as we expect to hear from Costco (COST), Accenture (ACN), and Darden Restaurants (DRI). Moving on to Friday, we see Cintas (CTAS) and Carnival (CCL) on the docket.

Week 5 (September 28-30)

Rounding out September, the last few days do feature some rather large names, both in terms of market cap and most highly followed names. Micron (MU) is the biggest one of the bunch, and it‘s expected to report on Wednesday. Tuesday features names like Paychex (PAYX), McCormick & Company (MKC), and CarMax (KMX).

September Investor and Industry Events

September 1 – Baidu’s voluntary conversion to dual primary listing on HKEX is effective

September 1 – New Apple CEO takes over

September 2 – Beige Book

September 2 – Costco monthly sales report

September 7 – Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference

September 7 – Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference

September 7 – Goldman Sachs Communacopia Technology Conference

September 8 – Jefferies Industrials Conference

September 8 – Nike annual meeting

September 8 – NY Fed Inflation Expectations report

September 9-14 – New York Fashion Week

September 10 – Uber CEO gives keynote at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference

September 10 – OPEC Monthly Oil report

September 11 – WASDE report on major crops

September 11 – expected S&P 500 rebalance announcement date

September 14 – International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer World Conference

September 18 – Triple-witching date

September 21 – S&P 500 rebalance effective date

September 21 – Wells Fargo Consumer Conference

September 21 – Quantum World Congress

September 22 – Fastly Investor Day

September 24 – Trump will meet with China President Xi

September 28 – Global Gaming Expo

September 28 – Novartis Virtual Pharma Day

September 28 – Nvidia at the NetApp Insight Conference

September 28 – MongoDB Investor Day

September 29 – Denver Gold Americas Mining Forum

September 29 – Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. Investor Day

September 29 – Alaska Air Investor Day

September 29 – Synopsys Investor Day

September 30 – Government funding deadline

Major Economic Reports and Events

September 1 – ISM Manufacturing, Construction Spending

September 2 – ADP Employment Change, Factory Orders

September 3 – Trade Balance, ISM Services

September 4 – August Employment Report

September 10 – PPI, Existing Home Sales

September 11 – CPI, Treasury Budget, Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment

September 16 – FOMC Rate Decision, Retail Sales, NAHB Housing Market Index

September 17 – Building Permits, Housing Starts, Philadelphia Fed Index, Pending Home Sales

September 18 – Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization

September 24 – New Home Sales

September 25 – Durable Goods, Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment

September 29 – S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index, Consumer Confidence

September 30 – PCE Price Index, Personal Income, Personal Spending

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President Donald Trump is moving to give ranchers a new way around the powerful meatpacking companies that stand between their cattle and the grocery-store shelf, following backlash in farm country over his decision to allow more foreign beef imports.

Trump said Friday that he was authorizing legal documents to be drafted to give farmers and ranchers “the right to process their own food,” casting the move as an effort to break what he called a “nasty monopoly” in the meat industry.

The announcement came after cattle producers and some Republicans pushed back on Trump’s plan to temporarily allow tariff-free imports of up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef, a move intended to ease pressure on consumers facing high prices at the meat counter.

THE UNEXPECTED FORCE KEEPING BEEF PRICES HIGH AND WHY THE PRESSURE COULD LAST FOR YEARS

Consumers are still facing high beef prices as the nation’s cattle shortage keeps pressure on grocery-store shelves. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

For ranchers, however, the fight is not only about imports. It is also about who controls the path from pasture to plate.

Four companies — Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co. — control roughly 85% of the country’s meat-processing capacity. Ranchers have long argued that the concentration leaves them with too few buyers for their cattle and forces smaller producers to rely on distant, federally inspected slaughter facilities to bring beef to market.

Under current law, ranchers can slaughter and process animals for their own use, but meat intended for sale generally must be processed in facilities that meet federal food-safety and inspection requirements.

Trump has not released the legal details of his proposal, and it remains unclear how far an executive action could go in changing those rules. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the administration would begin unveiling beef-processing actions Monday, including steps to reduce red tape, support smaller processors and expand ranchers’ ability to sell meat across state lines.

A HISTORIC SHORTAGE IS SQUEEZING AN AMERICAN DINNER STAPLE AND RELIEF COULD BE YEARS AWAY

For ranchers, rebuilding their herds is a slow and costly process, meaning the supply crunch now pushing up prices is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The political pressure comes as beef prices remain elevated and the U.S. cattle herd sits at its smallest level in roughly 75 years. Drought, high costs and years of herd liquidation have reduced domestic supply, while rebuilding the herd can take years.

That reality has put Trump in a difficult position, finding a way to ease grocery bills without further undercutting the ranchers producing the country’s beef.

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Ranchers are pushing for more control over how their cattle reach consumers as Trump targets the nation’s largest meatpackers. (Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Still, the proposal gives him a new way to address the affordability challenge by shifting the focus from imported beef to the meatpacking giants ranchers say are driving a wedge between what producers earn and what consumers pay.

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Almost half of parents said they’re worried about the cost of school uniforms, according to research by the charity Save the Children and the Baby Bank Alliance network.

Elise, a mum of three, has just picked up a new uniform for her son Charlie.

“It’s really expensive, I’ve got three kids you’ve got to get jumpers, T-shirts, trousers, shoes, double all of them because of the washing, so it’s amazing for saving money but also I never buy anything new if I can help it because it seems such a waste when there’s pre-loved which can be handed on.”

Elise said she can always find what she needs through the scheme.

“You can say ‘oh I’m really looking for some jumpers in age seven to eight or has anyone got the school uniform or the PE kit that we need’ and nine times out of 10 somebody would be able to go ‘oh yeah, I have actually I was going to pass that on or do something with it’ and then we swap it over.”

Jon started the scheme at his children’s school, Ysgol Treganna in Cardiff in 2022, and still organises the swaps for the school, working with deputy head, Gareth Evans.

“At the end of each half term, myself and Tom will look at what’s left in lost and found, basically what hasn’t been reclaimed and then Tom and his group of friends will then bag everything up and take them home to Jon to add to the website,” said Evans.

Jon’s scheme isn’t just about easing the financial strain on families, it’s also about sustainability.

He said: “This is helping families to save both their pocket and the planet and I think that extra dimension around the environment has really captured people’s interest in this initiative.

“There are 30,000 schools within the UK, all or most will be using school uniforms in one way shape or form, so the potential is definitely there to help many more schools.

“What matters most for me is the culture change and the change in sort of instinct around second-hand school clothes so that this becomes normal practice.”

Kingsbury High School in London, which has 2,000 pupils, is involved in the scheme.

Tara Randall, the school’s sustainability lead, says the initiative also takes away the stigma of asking for help with clothing your child and normalises swapping school clothes.

“There’s a certain street cred that kids like to follow, especially at secondary school. But this is done in a discreet way, so there’s no stigma.

“Parents can arrange their own drop-offs, pick-ups of uniforms, and, I guess the extra benefit on top of that is that you might find parents and carers from a community or connect in that kind of way, because it can feel very remote in secondary schools.”

Some families qualify for a grant in Wales, offering up to £200 per child to cover the cost of school equipment, although it is only available to families on a low income or children in local authority care.

In England, from September uniforms will be limited to three items with a school logo, such as a blazer, jumper or sportswear plus a tie for secondary schools, to help parents save money.