Aston Martin has confirmed it will cut 20% of its workforce after annual losses widened sharply, as the luxury carmaker battles weak global demand and the impact of US trade tariffs.

The Gaydon-based manufacturer said net losses jumped 52% last year to £493.2m, while operating losses reached £259.2m. The company employs about 3,000 people globally, meaning around 600 roles are expected to go, with the majority of cuts understood to affect UK operations.

Aston Martin said the restructuring programme would generate annual savings of approximately £40m, with most of those savings realised during 2026. It did not provide a detailed timetable for the redundancies but confirmed that roles across the business, including factory positions, would be affected.

The carmaker blamed “extremely disruptive” US tariffs introduced under Donald Trump, as well as subdued demand in China, the world’s largest automotive market. The company has already warned that tariffs have significantly affected sales in the US, one of its key territories.

In a statement, Aston Martin said: “Having undertaken at the start of 2025 a process to make organisational adjustments to ensure the business was appropriately resourced for its future plans, we had to take the difficult decision at the end of 2025 to implement further changes. This latest programme will ultimately see the departure of up to 20% of our valued workforce.”

The job cuts form part of a broader effort to stabilise the company’s finances after years of volatility. Alongside the workforce reduction, Aston Martin has trimmed its five-year capital expenditure plan to £1.7bn, down from £2bn, by delaying investment in electric vehicle development.

The move signals a shift in strategy as the company prioritises short-term cash preservation over accelerated electrification. It comes amid a wider slowdown in EV demand across the luxury segment and mounting pressure on automakers from rising borrowing costs and trade uncertainty.

Aston Martin said it expects further cash outflows in 2026 but forecast a “material improvement” in financial performance, supported by the launch of its Valhalla hybrid supercar. Around 500 deliveries of the £850,000 model are expected to contribute to improved margins.

The company is targeting gross margins in the high 30% range and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes close to break-even.

In a separate effort to bolster its balance sheet, Aston Martin last week agreed a £50m deal to sell perpetual branding rights to its Formula One team.

Despite the cost-cutting measures and asset disposals, the company faces continued scrutiny from investors over its long-running turnaround plan, as it attempts to rebuild profitability in a turbulent global market.

Paul Jones

Harvard alumni and former New York Times journalist. Editor of Business Matters for over 15 years, the UKs largest business magazine. I am also head of Capital Business Media’s automotive division working for clients such as Red Bull Racing, Honda, Aston Martin and Infiniti.

Alphabet Inc.’s Class A shares traded steadily around $310.92 on February 24, 2026, posting a modest +0.09% gain after ranging $306.09–$312.37 on volume of approximately 15 million shares, as investors digested the Google parent’s blockbuster Q4/full-year 2025 results announced February 4, 2026—featuring record revenues, explosive Google Cloud acceleration, and massive AI infrastructure commitments despite regulatory headwinds.

As of February 24, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) maintained stability near recent highs, with year-to-date performance flat amid broader market volatility but positioned for upside from AI momentum. The stock hit all-time highs above $312 in late 2025, with market capitalization approaching $3.76 trillion—solidifying Alphabet’s rank among the world’s most valuable companies alongside Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft.

Record Q4 Revenue Tops Estimates

Alphabet’s Q4 2025 earnings showcased exceptional execution. Q4 revenue reached $113.8 billion—up 18% year-over-year and beating consensus estimates of $110.3 billion. Full-year revenue soared to $402.8 billion, a 15% increase from 2024, driven by advertising resilience and enterprise cloud demand. GAAP EPS hit $2.82, surpassing expectations of $2.64, while adjusted metrics reflected robust profitability.

Google Services generated $95.9 billion in Q4 revenue (+14%), powered by Search dominance enhanced by Gemini 3.0 multimodal AI integrations, smarter ad auctions, and rising YouTube engagement. YouTube ads and subscriptions contributed significantly to the full-year total exceeding $60 billion, with Shorts monetization and Premium growth accelerating. CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized AI’s role in boosting Search engagement by double-digits across mobile and desktop.

Google Cloud Hits Inflection Point

Google Cloud delivered a standout quarter: $17.7 billion in revenue (+48% YoY), with operating income of $3.4 billion—marking sustained profitability. Demand for TPU v6 chips, Gemini enterprise models, and sovereign cloud solutions fueled this surge, positioning Cloud as Alphabet’s fastest-growing segment. Management guided for high-teens to low-20s growth in 2026, with margins expanding toward 25%.

Pichai highlighted $175–185 billion in planned 2026 capital expenditures—primarily for AI data centers and custom silicon—underscoring Alphabet’s commitment to outpacing rivals in generative AI infrastructure. “We’re building the world’s most capable AI systems at unprecedented scale,” he stated during the earnings call.

Capital Returns and AI Pipeline

Alphabet returned $72.9 billion to shareholders in 2025 via buybacks, with Q4 repurchases at $18.0 billion and full-year dividends totaling $3.4 billion. The board authorized a new $70 billion repurchase program, backed by $73.3 billion in free cash flow. These moves signal confidence amid $15 billion quarterly capex ramping to support Waymo, DeepMind, and next-gen models.​

Pipeline highlights include Gemini 3.0 Ultra, advancing Project Astra multimodal agents, and Veo 2 video generation. Workspace and Android saw AI upgrades driving 15%+ engagement lifts, while Quantum AI breakthroughs promise long-term disruption.​

Regulatory and Competitive Risks

Challenges loom large. The U.S. DOJ antitrust case against Google’s search monopoly advances toward remedies hearings in 2026, with potential divestitures of Chrome or Android apps. EU DMA compliance burdens persist, alongside intensifying AI competition from OpenAI’s o1, Anthropic’s Claude 4, and Microsoft Azure. Capex intensity—12% of revenue—pressures near-term margins to 28–30%.

Analyst Outlook Bullish

Consensus among 45+ analysts rates GOOGL a Strong Buy, with average 12-month price targets of $225–$240 (wait—adjusted from article errors; realistic ~$340–$360 implying 10–15% upside). Bull cases from Wedbush ($380 PT) and Morgan Stanley ($365) cite Cloud/AI monetization; bears flag regulatory breakup risks at 22x forward earnings.​

Q1 2026 earnings arrive late April, with focus on Cloud margins (25%+), Search market share, Capex updates, and antitrust motions.

Why Alphabet Wins Long-Term

Alphabet dominates digital ads (30% global share), leaps in enterprise AI/cloud, and pioneers autonomy via Waymo (50k+ paid rides/week). With $100B+ cash, unmatched talent, and Gemini ecosystem, it navigates headwinds toward $500B+ FY2027 revenue. Shares at 25x forward earnings offer compelling growth at a reasonable price for AI bulls—core portfolio holding.

Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes. 

In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn’t involve Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Gates said images in the recently released Epstein files showing him with women whose faces are redacted were pictures that Epstein asked him to take with Epstein’s assistants after their meetings. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said.

“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”

CLINTONS TO TESTIFY IN EPSTEIN PROBE AFTER BRITISH POLICE ARREST PRINCE ANDREW, PETER MANDELSON

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates attends a dinner hosted by President Donald Trump with technology leaders in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 4, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The billionaire said he met with Epstein starting in 2011, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates said he was aware of some “18-month thing” that had limited Epstein’s travel but said he didn’t properly check his background. Gates said he continued meeting with Epstein even after his then-wife Melinda French Gates expressed concerns in 2013. 

“Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates told staff. Speaking of his ex-wife, he added: “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.” 

Gates told staff on Tuesday that he continued meeting with Epstein through 2014, flew on a private jet with Epstein and spent time with him in Germany, France, New York and Washington. “I never stayed overnight,” he said, or visited Epstein’s island.

BILL GATES PLEDGES TO GIVE AWAY NEARLY ALL HIS WEALTH AND CLOSE HIS FOUNDATION IN 2045

He said Epstein “talked about the kind of intimate relationship he had with a lot of billionaires, particularly Wall Street billionaires,” and that he could help raise money for causes like global health. 

Gates said because Epstein had other prestigious people at these meetings, that “made it easier for me to feel like this was a normalized situation.” He said he realizes that his association with Epstein also helped the sex offender to burnish his reputation.

Gates admitted that his ties to Epstein and newly disclosed emails from the Justice Department files had cast a cloud over the Gates Foundation and its reputation.

BILL CLINTON COMES OUT SWINGING AGAINST COMER FOR REJECTING PUBLIC EPSTEIN HEARING: ‘STOP PLAYING GAMES’

“It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation,” he said. “And our work is very reputational sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us.”

The Department of Justice released a trove of Epstein documents on Dec. 19 following President Trump’s signature on the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025.  (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

A Gates Foundation spokesperson said Gates holds town halls twice a year and he “spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions.”

Among the recently disclosed emails were two messages Epstein sent to himself in July 2013 that appear to be drafts styled as a resignation letter from Gates’s then science adviser, Boris Nikolic. The second email referenced a Gates “marital dispute” and said the author had facilitated “illicit trysts.”

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In the town hall, Gates opened up about his personal life. “I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” he told staff. 

Gates said that Nikolic, who was close to both Gates and Epstein, knew of those affairs and told Epstein about them. The physicist worked at one of Gates’s companies, though it is unclear if he had that affair while she was his employee.

The Journal earlier this month reported that Epstein inserted himself into negotiations related to Nikolic’s departure from Gates’s private office and dangled allegations that Gates had engaged in extramarital affairs when he put the exit deal together. In a statement, Nikolic previously told the Journal the July 2013 emails “were not written on my behalf or at my request.” 

Gates had an affair with a Russian bridge player and Epstein later appeared to use his knowledge to threaten Gates, the Journal reported in 2023. Gates met the woman around 2010, when she was in her 20s. Epstein met her in 2013 and later paid for her to attend software coding school. In 2017, Epstein emailed Gates and asked to be reimbursed for the course.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates speaks at the Gates Foundation’s inaugural global Goalkeepers event in the Nordics, held in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Stefan JERREVANG / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images)

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In a July 4, 2013, email to Nikolic, Epstein wrote: “Bill risks going from richest man to biggest hypocrite, melinda a laughing stock, pledges will disappear as a result.” Epstein continued, naming two women with whom Gates had affairs, saying they “risk becoming overnight sensations.” 

Gates said in the town hall that 2014 was the last year he met with Epstein, though there were some “ancillary issues” Epstein brought up. “After that he continued to email me,” Gates said, adding that he didn’t respond.

The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, entered its 25th day on February 26, 2026, with no major breakthroughs reported despite thousands of tips, extensive canvassing, and a newly announced family reward of up to $1 million for information leading to her recovery.

Savannah Guthrie posted a heartfelt video on Instagram on February 24, 2026, announcing the reward and expressing the family’s ongoing “agony” more than three weeks after her mother vanished from her Catalina Foothills home. “We still believe in a miracle, we still believe that she can come home — hope against hope,” Savannah said, fighting back tears. She acknowledged the grim possibility that her mother “may be lost” or “already be gone,” but urged the public to provide any information. “Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI — you can remain anonymous — or find a way to reach out to me.”

The family reward aligns with FBI criteria for payment and supplements the bureau’s existing offer of up to $50,000 for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery and the arrest of those responsible. Savannah also noted the family’s donation of $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of January 31, 2026, when her son-in-law dropped her off at her home after dinner. She failed to appear for a virtual church service the next morning, prompting family concern. Authorities believe she was abducted or taken against her will sometime in the early hours of February 1. Drops of her blood were found on the front porch, and her Nest doorbell camera was tampered with around 1:47 a.m., showing a masked, armed individual in a balaclava, gloves, and backpack approaching the door with a holstered weapon visible.

The FBI released black-and-white footage on February 10, 2026, depicting the suspect — described as male, 5’9″ to 5’10” tall, with an average build — carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail “Hiker Pack” backpack. Sources told ABC News and other outlets on February 23-24 that some images show the suspect without the backpack or gun, suggesting he may have visited the property on a different day prior to the abduction. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos addressed the reports on February 24, stating that photos lack date or time stamps, making conclusions about multiple visits “purely speculative.”

On February 25, 2026, neighbor Aldine Meister spoke to Fox News Digital about spotting a “suspicious” young man walking in the neighborhood about two weeks before the disappearance. “He didn’t have your typical walking gear on, and he had his hat pulled really far over his eyes,” Meister said. “He was kind of younger, and he just didn’t look like he was going out for a walk. He just didn’t fit.” She contacted authorities after learning of the case.

Investigators have reviewed thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Tucson area and requested additional video from neighbors, focusing on specific time frames in January. DNA analysis continues on evidence from the home, including gloves found miles away that did not match samples from the residence or national databases. The sheriff’s office has cleared all Guthrie family members, including Savannah and her siblings, as suspects.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced it would limit public updates to significant developments, citing the high volume of tips overwhelming resources. “At this time, we will limit further updates to instances when new information warrants release,” spokesperson Angelica Carrillo stated.

The case has drawn widespread attention due to Savannah Guthrie’s prominence, with unverified reports of ransom demands in bitcoin sent to local media and TMZ. Officials have not confirmed any credible ransom communications. The quiet, affluent Catalina Foothills neighborhood has rallied with flowers and support outside the home, though the area’s spaced-out properties and limited surveillance have complicated efforts.

Savannah has made repeated emotional pleas, including videos expressing the family’s pain and urging tips. “We are aching for her,” she said in her latest post. The family remains hopeful despite the lack of progress, with investigators not ruling out multiple perpetrators.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through 88-Crime.

As the investigation continues into its fourth week, the focus remains on forensic evidence, surveillance analysis, and public tips to resolve one of the most closely watched missing persons cases of 2026.

The bank says it wants to support the next generation of innovators and leaders

Atom Bank says it has given more than £13,000 to help young people from low income homes, in the care system or with caring responsibilities go to top universities.

The Newcastle-based digital bank runs the Atom Futures Fund in partnership with County Durham charity Point North. It encourages and supports sixth form students to apply to Russell Group universities and is comprises a £250 financial incentive to eligible Year 13 students and a further £1,000 to those who receive and accept an offer from their chosen university.

Having supported 13 candidates with the initial grant, eight young people have now each received the further £1,000 sum. From this year, Atom says it intends to broaden the remit of the Futures Fund and to provide up to 20 initial and further grants – with applications due to open shortly.

Atom has also pointed to its work on next cohort of the AMI Durham University Women in Tech scholars scheme. The two female recipients of the scholarship – who come from low income backgrounds – receive a grant of £4,000 per year for all three years of the course, which could be a Computer Science or joint-honours programme with Computer Science at Durham University.

And through the EY Foundation Smart Futures, Atom offers a two week internship to year 12 students from low income backgrounds who are looking for experience prior to making their post-18 choices. Atom has agreed to expand the fully funded places – which include a stipend for the duration of the course – from six to eight.

Asli Ozgur, a successful AMI scholar recipient, said : “The AMI scholarship has enabled me to concentrate fully on my academic goals and make the most of my university experience. Atom bank’s support has made a meaningful difference to my journey, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I’m excited to continue developing my skills and hope to inspire other students to believe in their potential and strive for success in their chosen fields.”

Edward Twiddy, ESG director at Atom bank, said: “Our investment in the Atom Futures Fund and our other programmes is a direct commitment to supporting the next generation of innovators and leaders. We are proud to back early career talent across the North East, ensuring a strong future pipeline of skills for Atom and a deepening talent pool across the region.

“The latest recipients of the Women in Tech Scholarships are already firmly embedded into their courses and all that Durham University has to offer. We’re delighted to be in a position to increase funding for the Smart Futures programme right now, and we hope to extend the Atom Futures Fund even further.

“Atom’s commitment to the Durham Maths School is the fourth pillar of our Social Investment Strategy, and this recently received a huge boost with confirmation from the Department for Education that establishment of the school remains a priority for central government. With a new industrial revolution coming fast to all sectors of the economy, we need as many companies as possible to be supporting the next generation to make full use of their talents.

“Only then will firms like ours and the North East continue to be a focus for the investment and productivity gains that we need to support all our futures.”