Sony’s latest flagship true wireless earbuds, the WF-1000XM6, hit the market Feb. 12, 2026, at $329.99, aiming to reclaim dominance in the premium noise-canceling segment with significant upgrades to active noise cancellation, sound quality, call performance and fit.
The successor to the 2023 WF-1000XM5 introduces a complete redesign, moving away from the glossy, rounded aesthetic to a matte, more ergonomic shape with a pill-like profile and improved stability. Reviewers across outlets like CNET, What Hi-Fi?, SoundGuys and TechRadar have praised the changes, noting better comfort for extended wear despite the larger size. The charging case features a metal hinge for durability and a flat top and bottom for stability, though some users find it bulkier in pockets compared to the XM5.
Sony WF-1000XM6
Sony equipped the WF-1000XM6 with eight microphones — four per earbud — and a new QN3e processor for enhanced ANC processing. The company claims up to 25% better noise reduction than the XM5, achieved through an Adaptive NC Optimizer that analyzes ambient noise and wearing conditions in real time. Independent tests confirm class-leading performance: SoundGuys measured an average 88% reduction in loudness, with peaks over 40dB at low frequencies and 50dB around 2kHz, outperforming rivals like the Technics EAH-AZ100 in many bands. Low-end rumble from engines or air conditioners virtually disappears, while midrange voices see substantial attenuation, though not complete elimination in busy offices.
Transparency mode also improves, offering natural passthrough with minimal hiss. The buds support Speak-to-Chat, which pauses music during conversation, and adaptive sound control that adjusts based on activity.
Audio quality stands out as a highlight. The WF-1000XM6 feature newly designed dynamic drivers with refined tuning for smoother, more detailed reproduction. Reviewers describe a balanced signature with powerful, controlled bass that extends deeper without muddiness, clear mids for vocal presence and sparkling highs without harshness. Support for LDAC enables high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/96kHz on compatible Android devices, while AAC handles iOS well. The Sony Headphones Connect app provides extensive EQ customization, DSEE Extreme upscaling and 360 Reality Audio spatial sound.
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Compared to the WF-1000XM5, the XM6 offers subtle but noticeable refinements: tighter bass control, better instrument separation and a wider soundstage. What Hi-Fi? noted slightly clearer presentation, while Major HiFi highlighted improved midrange clarity. The difference isn’t revolutionary for XM5 owners, but it elevates the experience for newcomers or those upgrading from older models.
Call quality sees major gains with upgraded beamforming mics and wind noise reduction. Testers report crisp, natural voice transmission even in noisy environments, rivaling or surpassing competitors. Battery life holds at 8 hours per charge with ANC on (24 hours total with case), consistent with predecessors, though real-world use varies by volume and features.
The buds earn an IPX4 rating for sweat and splash resistance, support Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint pairing (two devices) and include Auracast for future broadcast audio. They ship in Black and Platinum Silver, with memory foam tips in multiple sizes for secure fit.
Critics largely agree the WF-1000XM6 rank among 2026’s best premium earbuds. CNET awarded an Editors’ Choice, calling them “pretty hard to beat” in sound, ANC and calls. Tom’s Guide deemed them “everything I could possibly need,” with Mashable praising full, balanced audio and standout ANC. SoundGuys hailed them as Sony’s best yet, with meaningful upgrades across categories.
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Some caveats persist. The higher price — $30 more than the XM5 — draws scrutiny amid fierce competition from Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, Apple AirPods Pro 3 and emerging challengers. Fit remains polarizing: the larger design suits many but may feel chonky for smaller ears, and some reviewers note inconsistent seal with included tips. What Hi-Fi? mentioned slower settling compared to rivals, while TechRadar found ANC elite but not unmatched in every scenario.
Sony positions the WF-1000XM6 as its most advanced in-ear offering, building on the 1000X legacy that has defined premium ANC since the WF-1000XM3. With the launch timed ahead of major spring releases, early sales and reviews suggest strong demand.
Availability is widespread through Sony’s site, Amazon and major retailers. As the category evolves with Bluetooth LE Audio and spatial formats, the XM6’s robust feature set and performance position them as a top contender for commuters, travelers and audiophiles seeking reference-level wireless listening.
Brooks Koepka teed off Thursday in his hometown event, the Cognizant Classic at PGA National, marking his third start since rejoining the PGA Tour after a nearly four-year stint with LIV Golf and signaling a determined push to regain form ahead of the Masters in April.
American Brooks Koepka
Koepka, grouped with Will Zalatoris and Daniel Berger, started his round on the Champion Course at 12:23 p.m. local time, drawing significant local attention as the five-time major champion plays the tournament for the first time since 2022. The 35-year-old Palm Beach County native last competed here before defecting to the Saudi-backed LIV circuit, where he won multiple individual titles but saw his world ranking plummet.
Koepka’s return began in January under the PGA Tour’s new Returning Member Program, which required a $5 million charitable contribution — an obligation he began fulfilling this week with funds directed through PGA Tour Charities. The donation, part of his reinstatement agreement alongside forfeiting player equity for five years and waiving 2026 FedExCup bonus eligibility, has been a focal point of discussions around his comeback.
Performance-wise, the transition has been uneven. At the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Koepka posted rounds of 73-68-73-70 for a 4-under 284 total, finishing tied for 56th and earning $22,176. The following week at the WM Phoenix Open, he missed the cut after shooting 75-69 for 2-over 144, struggling particularly on the greens. He has ranked 171st in strokes gained putting this season, losing over two shots per round on average.
To address the issue, Koepka switched to a TaylorMade Spider mallet putter ahead of Phoenix, a change he believes will yield improvement now that he has more time to adapt. “Putting should be a lot better,” he said in pre-tournament comments, expressing optimism about the flat stick staying in the bag at PGA National.
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The Florida swing offers Koepka a chance to build rhythm close to home. As a Jupiter resident and new father to son Crew, he cited family proximity as the primary reason for leaving LIV Golf late last year. “Just my family,” he told reporters earlier, emphasizing the personal motivation over financial or competitive factors. Being back in South Florida allows more time with loved ones while competing on familiar turf.
Koepka has described his PGA Tour return as “enjoyable,” noting positive feedback from peers despite some initial frostiness anticipated by observers. Many players have welcomed him back, viewing his departure from LIV as a validation of the Tour’s strength and a blow to the rival league’s credibility. An undercover pro quoted in Golf Digest expressed relief and even enthusiasm, noting Koepka’s public comments during his LIV tenure — including regrets tied to health issues — had already undermined the Saudi circuit’s appeal.
Currently ranked No. 263 in the Official World Golf Ranking — a sharp drop from his 38-week reign at No. 1 starting in 2019 — Koepka aims to climb back into contention through consistent play. He has committed to upcoming events including The Players Championship (March 12-15), Valspar Championship (March 19-22), and the Texas Children’s Houston Open (March 26-29), setting up a busy stretch before Augusta National.
In press conferences ahead of the Cognizant Classic, Koepka discussed his current form, legacy, and preparations for the Masters. He praised emerging talents like Chris Gotterup, who has won twice in 2026, while subtly positioning himself as a future challenger. “Pretty good, considering he’s won twice,” Koepka said of Gotterup. “I would say that’s a name that probably sticks out right now.”
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The Cognizant Classic field lacks top-tier star power, with only one player ranked in the top 30 of the OWGR, making Koepka a standout attraction and betting favorite in some markets at around +2900. The Champion Course, known for its challenging Bear Trap stretch on holes 15-17, has seen winning scores rise in recent years compared to Koepka’s prior appearances, where totals hovered around 6- to 10-under.
Koepka’s major pedigree remains undeniable: five wins including three PGA Championships and back-to-back U.S. Opens. His LIV success — five individual victories, including playoffs against Jon Rahm — demonstrated sustained elite play, but the 54-hole, team-inclusive format differed markedly from the PGA Tour’s 72-hole stroke play with larger fields.
As he readjusts, Koepka has emphasized putting himself in contention multiple times before Augusta. A strong showing this week could provide the confidence boost needed after early setbacks. Local fans, many of whom watched him grow up in the area and even carry scoring signs as a junior, have turned out in force, adding emotional weight to the homecoming.
Whether Koepka contends or uses the event as a stepping stone, his return injects intrigue into the PGA Tour’s 2026 season. With family priorities driving his decisions and major championships on the horizon, the five-time major winner appears motivated to reclaim his place among golf’s elite.
An early agenda item for Tata Sons Pvt.’s six board directors when they convened at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday at Bombay House the group’s storied headquarters was expected to be straightforward: approving a third term for Natarajan Chandrasekaran as chairman.
Within two hours, the conversation had veered off course. What had looked like a done deal, with Tata Trusts itself recommending the reappointment just months ago, quickly unraveled.
Noel Tata, the head of Tata Trusts, began pressing Chandra — as he’s widely known — with tough questions. Most critically, Noel sought assurances that the group’s holding company could avoid a public listing, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named as the discussions were private. Tata Trusts is a collective of 13 charities, which together control two-thirds of Tata Sons.
Noel also laid down several conditions: restraining debt levels, stemming losses — especially at Air India, and reaching a swift settlement with Tata Sons’ largest minority shareholder, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the people said. The SP Group, which owns about 18.4%, was locked in a corporate and legal battle with Tata Sons for years and is still looking to monetize a part of its stake.
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While some of Noel’s demands were negotiable, discussions hit a wall when Chandra said he couldn’t guarantee a waiver from India’s banking regulator on the listing issue since that decision lay outside his control, the people added.
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Tata Sons’ potential listing stems from a regulatory classification. In 2022, the Reserve Bank of India designated the company as an “upper-layer” non-banking financial institution — a category that requires firms to go public within three years to enhance transparency and governance. That meant a deadline of September 2025 for Tata Sons to list its shares. There has been no update from the RBI or Tata Sons on the state of play on this front. Despite the mandate, Tata Sons has made no immediate preparations for this share sale. Its leadership believes the regulator will extend the deadline, and after recent engagements with officials, expects formal communication from the RBI granting more time. Chandra has made clear that while he personally favors keeping Tata Sons private, he cannot offer an absolute guarantee. Should the RBI insist on a listing, compliance would take precedence over internal preferences, the people said, citing Chandra as having informed the directors. That uncertainty weighs heavily on the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. Any delay in an IPO effectively closes off a potential liquidity window for the debt-laden conglomerate, which has struggled with financial stress exacerbated by the pandemic. Its stake in Tata Sons remains illiquid, making a resolution critical to its debt-reduction plans.
While Chandra enjoys strong support from the Indian government — earned through execution of high-stakes national projects such as semiconductor fabrication and mobile manufacturing — Noel Tata draws strength from a different source: the deep-rooted confidence and blessings of the Parsi community whose members have controlled the Tata Group since its inception in 1868.
Appointed in 2017 to steady the ship after the ouster of Cyrus Mistry, Chandra has done more than just restore confidence. Under his leadership, revenue for the group’s 15 largest listed entities has nearly doubled while their profits have more than doubled.
His tenure is also defined by high-stakes ambition, from launching India’s first homegrown semiconductor plant to navigating TCS through the volatile rise of artificial intelligence to turning around the unprofitable carrier, Air India.
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“Nothing changes,” Chandra said Tuesday, when asked about the immediate impact on Tata Group’s leadership, before his car pulled away.
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd (SSSAF) Q4 2025 Earnings Call February 26, 2026 4:00 AM EST
Company Participants
Caroline Thirifay – Director of Investor Relations Marc Oursin – CEO & Director Thomas Oversberg – Chief Financial Officer Isabel Neumann – Chief Investment & Operating Officer
Conference Call Participants
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Jonathan William Coubrough – Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division Andres Toome – Green Street Advisors, LLC, Research Division Valerie Jacob Guezi – Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division Vincent Koppmair – Banque Degroof Petercam S.A., Research Division Aakanksha Anand – Citigroup Inc., Research Division Ana Taborga – Morgan Stanley, Research Division Roy Külter – ODDO BHF Corporate & Markets, Research Division
Presentation
Caroline Thirifay Director of Investor Relations
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Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today, both in person and virtually for the management presentation of our full year results 2025. I’m here with Marc Oursin, CEO; Thomas Oversberg, CFO; and Isabel Neumann, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
Before we begin, we want to remind you that all statements other than statements of historical fact included in this management presentation are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the statements. These risks and other factors could adversely affect our business and future results that are described in our earnings release and in our publicly reported information.
With that, I will hand over to Marc.
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Marc Oursin CEO & Director
Thank you, Caroline. Hello, good morning to all of you. Thank you for being here. So let’s start with this page, Page #2. So you can see that we have, at the end of ’25, close to 350 properties in Europe and reaching almost 1.8 million square meter of footage.
Regarding the performance of the year, we have delivered another very strong one. Our revenues grew
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
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Private investment firms of the ultra-wealthy capped off 2025 with equity bets ranging from airline stocks to bitcoin ETFs, according to fourth-quarter securities filings analyzed by CNBC.
Some of the investments made headlines. Leon Cooperman’s family office, Omega Advisors, for example, attracted attention last week for disclosing that it had upped its stake in Manchester United last quarter. Omega Advisors’ shares of the publicly traded English soccer club are now worth $46.5 million, per InsiderScore.
(Manchester fans fearing a takeover by the hedge-fund billionaire can rest easy. Another filing disclosing Cooperman’s 5.2% stake in the club stated that his holding is a passive investment.)
While it generated less buzz, Omega Advisors’ biggest move last quarter was buying more than $375 million worth of shares in mortgage lender Rocket Companies. The new position is now the firm’s largest holding valued at nearly $407 million, per InsiderScore.
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Some other moves by billionaire firms have already paid off. David Tepper’s family office Appaloosa tripled its position in Micron to $428.1 million, making it the firm’s top holding. Shares of Micron, which produces memory chips that power artificial intelligence data centers, have surged by roughly 50% since the start of 2026. During the same quarter, Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office initiated a new position in fuel-cell company Bloom Energy, which is up more than 100% year to date.
Bets on cryptocurrency have been less fruitful thus far this year. WIT LLC, an investment vehicle for the Walton family’s namesake family office, made a $4 million allocation to iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which has sunk 21% year-to-date. The new position makes up less than 1% of WIT’s portfolio. Duty-free mogul Alan Parker’s Kemnay Advisory Services increased its shares of Coinbase by nearly 44% last quarter. Shares of Coinbase have sunk 18% since the beginning of the year.
Last quarter’s filings highlighted major investors’ diverging approaches on trading the Mag 7. Duquesne, for instance, upped its Amazon holdings by 69% to roughly $170 million and exited its Meta position. Meanwhile, Longbow SA, an investment firm of the billionaire Rausing family, downsized its positions in Amazon, Nvidia,Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Meta.
Ray Dalio, who has repeatedly warned of an AI bubble and a potential capital war for months, has taken a striking approach, according to the latest filing for Dalio’s Marino Management. The firm disclosed a $438.5 million position in SPDR Gold Trust that makes up nearly 90% of its portfolio.
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“I think people make the mistake of thinking, ‘Is [gold] going to go up and down, and should I buy it?’” Dalio told CNBC in early February. “Instead … perhaps central banks or governments or sovereign wealth funds should say, ‘What percentage of my portfolio should I have in gold?’ [and] keep a certain percentage, because it’s a very effective diversifier to other poor parts of the portfolio.”
Dow Jones futures rose slightly early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures. Nasdaq futures were little changed. Nvidia (NVDA) climbed slightly after the AI giant reported accelerating earnings growth and bullish guidance. FTAI Aviation (FTAI), Salesforce.com (CRM), Snowflake (SNOW) and Sterling Construction (STRL) were among the many notable other earnings reports. The stock market rally saw tech-led gains Wednesday heading into…
A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. In a world where it’s difficult to develop new commercial real estate — from the costs of capital and materials to jurisdictional requirements, among other hurdles — one major developer is making a big bet that older is better. Bozzuto Group is partnering with Invesco in a $1 billion venture to buy existing multifamily assets on the East Coast. The focus is on properties that have lost significant value but can be renovated and repackaged to compete with newer, high-amenity buildings. The strategy is “to capitalize on recovering market fundamentals” by focusing on assets that have the capacity to gain value, said Greg Kraus, managing director and head of U.S. transactions at Invesco Real Estate, in a news release. The new fund launches against a backdrop of oversupply in the market. Multifamily saw a huge construction boom in the last five years, thanks to lower interest rates at the start of the pandemic and demographic drivers. Much of that supply is still making its way through the pipeline, now in a higher interest rate environment. Toby Bozzuto, CEO of Bozzuto Group, called the oversupply a “temporary phenomenon.” “Where supply is currently the problem, supply is also the solution in the future for affordability,” he told Property Play . “So it’s a very interesting dynamic, because what we’re doing now is absorbing the overhang of the units in the market. … The vacancy will dissipate over ’26 and, in worst cases, early ’27, but there’s nothing behind it.” Purchasing older buildings today can be done at prices below the cost to build from the ground up, which Bozzuto traditionally and still does. Existing buildings are often priced at 10% to 20% below replacement costs. “Secondly, there’s speed to market. If you buy a building, you’re not going through the regulatory morass that, candidly, has exacerbated some of this problem, the supply problem,” Bozzuto said. Most experts anticipate the current oversupply situation to reverse itself in just a few years, given demographic demand and the simple fact that the for-sale housing market is so expensive, meaning more renters are waiting to become buyers. “A sharp drop in apartment starts provides hope that the robust delivery pipeline will slow and alleviate some pressure on lease-ups in rapidly growing markets,” according to a recent report from Yardi, which forecasts 450,000 units to be delivered in 2026, a drop from recent years. Still, that shift is “not enough of a decline to push rents to robust levels,” it said. Despite weaker rents and a weaker consumer, investors are increasingly interested in deploying capital into the multifamily sector. Berkadia’s 2026 Multifamily Investor Sentiment Survey, which surveyed 249 investors to assess anticipated transaction activity and opportunities within the sector, found that 87% of investors plan to moderately or aggressively expand their multifamily portfolios this year, “demonstrating cautious optimism despite ongoing challenges.” Some of those challenges are in multifamily loans, where delinquencies are rising and weighing on property valuations. Bozzuto, however, seems less concerned. “I think the distress will be relatively de minimis, particularly compared to some of the other asset classes,” he said. “There are some buildings where developers really pushed on leverage or on floating rate, and when they price into a permanent loan — perhaps they were on a four- or five-year construction loan — when they flip to a perm loan, we may see some issues.” The distress, he said, will be short-lived and provides ample opportunity. “We will go up and down the East Coast, maybe all the way to Chicago, and buy multifamily assets that we can — ‘value add,’ the idea being that they’re either under-managed or haven’t been renovated, or there’s something that can be done better with these assets,” said Bozzuto. “And over time, rents will grow.” Ultimately, he said he hopes that the fundamentals will pivot to allow for new development to also pencil and succeed.
