Jeffrey Zekauskas
JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division

Hi, good afternoon. I’m Jeff Zekauskas. I analyze chemicals for JPMorgan. It’s my pleasure this afternoon to introduce the management of Lyondell.

Representing Lyondell is Agustin Izquierdo, who’s the Chief Financial Officer. And I think he’s only been Chief Financial Officer through events, whether it’s Liberation Day, the conflict, the dividend cut. It’s just — he’s had an eventful year. He worked at BASF for 10 or 12 years from 2009 to 2022. He has both an Engineering degree and a degree in Actuarial Science. And on top of that, I think he went to the [ UFC ] Business School. So he’s a pretty sharp guy.

Accompanying Agustin is Dave Kinney, who’s in the audience, who’s retiring. And Dave has done a terrific job as the Head IR contact at Lyondell for years and continuing a tradition where Doug Pike, who is the previous IR Head, did a wonderful job. And next to him is the new IR contact, David Dennison. And so we look forward to working with him.

The format will be a fireside chat. And Agustin, would you like to begin with a few slides?

Agustin Izquierdo
Executive VP & CFO

Perfect. Yes. Thank you very much, Jeff, and thank you, everybody, for joining us. I’ll go over just a handful of slides that talk about our outlook, obviously, the existing conflict in the Middle East and how we are positioned to take advantage of that situation. And then we’ll open up for Q&A.

So as always, with the legal disclaimers, we’ll be

New York’s Dismal Tax Forecast

As pressure builds on Iran’s ruling regime, exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi remains in contact with figures inside the country who could help ensure a “stable transition,” according to his chief of staff.

“He’s in touch with forces within the country, including within the state bureaucracy, who, at the right moment, are ready to pull away from this regime and to ensure a stable transition,” Cameron Khansarinia said.

EXPERT SAYS IRAN DRONE ATTACK ON CALIFORNIA COAST WOULD BE ‘VERY EASY’ TO STOP

Khansarinia, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s chief of staff, joined FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” to discuss the latest developments inside Iran and the growing movement among Iranians who oppose the current leadership.

Iranian Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi speaking during a meeting. (JACK GUEZ / AFP / Getty Images)

Khansarinia said the recent elimination of a key Iranian security figure, Ali Larijani, marked a significant moment for the country, arguing that the official had played a major role in maintaining the regime’s grip on power and overseeing violent crackdowns against protesters.

“Larijani played a critical role in holding up this criminal regime,” Khansarinia said.

He added that the official had been closely tied to the suppression of demonstrations following calls by Pahlavi for Iranians to take to the streets.

“According to President Trump, more than 32,000 innocent and peaceful protesters were slaughtered,” he said.

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Khansarinia said many Iranians are preparing for the right moment to mobilize again, noting that supporters are waiting for a signal from Pahlavi before launching another nationwide wave of protests.

“The prince has told them that he will issue the final call to take to the street, to take down this regime when the time is right,” he said.

Khansarinia also pointed to what he described as widespread public support for the exiled crown prince as the country looks toward a potential post-regime future.

“The crown prince absolutely has the majority support of the Iranian people,” Khansarinia said. “That’s been proven time and time again on the streets, when at his call millions of Iranians took to the streets… chanting his name… calling for his leadership of the transition to the ballot box, to his true secular democratic system, which has always been his mission in life.”

IRAN REGIME ‘ABOUT TO COLLAPSE,’ PRINCE REZA PAHLAVI SAYS AS ECONOMIC CRISIS DEEPENS

He added that Pahlavi has been working to prepare for a stable transition should the regime collapse.

“The prince is really the one person who can unite Iranian society from the armed forces… and ensure stability going forward,” Khansarinia said.

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Lululemon offered a weak 2026 outlook on Tuesday as tariffs, higher expenses and a dramatic proxy battle with its founder weigh on its bottom line. 

The athleisure company’s guidance for both the current quarter and the fiscal year came in lower than expected on the top and bottom lines. 

Lululemon is expecting first quarter sales to be between $2.40 billion and $2.43 billion, weaker than estimates of $2.47 billion, according to LSEG. It anticipates earnings per share will range between $1.63 and $1.68, also weaker than estimates of $2.07. 

For the full year, Lululemon is expecting sales to be between $11.35 billion and $11.50 billion, below expectations of $11.52 billion. Earnings guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 per share was also far weaker than estimates of $12.58. 

“The work is really underway in terms of our action plan, and we’re really focused on the importance of course correcting on a number of fronts,” interim co-CEO Meghan Frank told CNBC in an interview. “We’ve got a new creative director, his first line is hitting in Q1, we are seeing some green shoots, I would say, from the product in Q1 so we’re excited about some of the momentum we have on that line item. We have had some great response from some of our recent product activations, and then we’re also reducing our speed to market timeline.”

During Lululemon’s holiday quarter, the company beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines, though Wall Street had lowered its expectations for the period in recent months.

Here’s how the Vancouver-based retailer performed during its fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $5.01 vs. $4.78 expected
• Revenue: $3.64 billion vs. $3.58 billion expected 

The company’s net income for the three-month period that ended Feb. 1 was $586.9 million, or $5.01 per share, compared with $748.4 million, or $6.14 per share, a year earlier. 

Sales rose slightly to $3.64 billion, up about 1% from $3.61 billion a year earlier.

Lululemon raised its fiscal fourth-quarter guidance during the ICR conference in Orlando earlier this year, so all eyes were on the company’s 2026 guidance following more than a year of underperformance. 

The retailer, always considered a premium brand that rarely offered promotions, had been leaning on discounts to drive sales and move inventory. The company is now working to pull back that strategy this year, Frank said. Lululemon expects the move will weigh on sales in the near term, but it will bring the company back to a full-price business over time, she said. 

Meanwhile, it’s seeing a number of pressures on its bottom line. Higher tariffs and the end of the de minimis exemption continue to be a major cost for the company.

This year, Lululemon expects tariffs to cost the company $380 million, up from $275 million last year, on a gross basis. Once mitigation efforts are taken into account, the net impact is expected to be $220 million in 2026, up from $213 million in 2025. 

Lululemon has been negotiating with suppliers and taking other actions to reduce its exposure to tariffs, but it isn’t increasing prices to offset the added costs, especially as it looked to promotions to drive sales in recent months. The brand was already priced toward the high end of the market prior to President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes last year, leaving it with fewer tools in its arsenal to offset the duties, especially as it faces intense competition and a slowdown in the athleisure market. 

Last year, the company raised prices on a select number of items. Shoppers are still responding favorably so far, but there are no plans to build on those increases for now, said Frank. 

Beyond tariffs, the company is also seeing higher expenses from marketing, labor, incentives and costs related to its proxy contest with founder Chip Wilson. Wilson, Lululemon’s largest independent shareholder, has been pressuring the company to make changes to its board of directors and has criticized it for losing sight of its creative vision.  

Just before releasing earnings, Lululemon announced it was adding former Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh to its board of directors. Bergh was not among the candidates Wilson put forward for consideration, but he does have considerable public company experience and spent around 13 years as Levi’s CEO. During his tenure with the company, Levi began pursuing a more profitable direct selling strategy and sales rose by around 30%.

As part of the announcement, Lululemon said board member David Mussafer, managing partner and chairman of private equity firm Advent, will not stand for re-election during the company’s upcoming 2026 shareholder meeting at the conclusion of his current three-year term. The announcement marks a win for Wilson, who has criticized Mussafer publicly. In a letter to shareholders last month, Wilson pointed out that Mussafer was overseeing the board’s interview process for prospective nominees at a time when he was up for election, creating a potential conflict of interest.

A source familiar with the matter said Wilson had called on Mussafer to step down from the board because he lacks independent leadership, among other issues.

Mussafer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prior to the earnings announcement, Wilson issued a statement saying shareholders will be “critically evaluating” any claims of success or improvement from Lululemon when it released results.

“The core issue at lululemon is one the Company has struggled with for years: there is a disconnect between the Company’s creative engine and the Board’s understanding for how brand power and product excellence fuel cultural strength, margin durability and long-term shareholder value,” he said.

Lululemon declined to comment. 

While parts of Lululemon’s business are still growing, it has primarily seen that expansion in China and in other international regions, which make up a fraction of overall revenue. Same-store sales in its largest region, the Americas, haven’t grown in around two years, and Lululemon is expecting another year of declines in 2026. 

The company said it expects sales in the Americas to decline between 1% and 3% in 2026. 

Meanwhile, sales in China are expected to grow around 20%, and the rest of the world by a mid-teens percentage.

Tomohiko Sano
JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division

All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining Valmont Industries sessions. This is Tomohiko Sano, SMID cap industrials analyst at JPMorgan. With me, we have Avner Applbaum, President and CEO; Thomas Liguori, Executive Vice President and CFO, Renee Campbell, SVP, Capital Markets and Risk. So thank you, Avner, Tom and Renee for joining today.

So before we begin, I want to highlight why Valmont Industries is such a key participant of this conference. As a global leader in infrastructure and agriculture solutions, Valmont sits at the intersection of the powerful megatrends, electrification, grid modernization and food security, with a record backlog and disciplined capital allocations driving sustainable growth and margin expansions.

So Renee, to kick things off, I think it would be great to start with introductions to Valmont, like who they are — who you are and then like what you do with the stories, please?

Renee Campbell
Senior VP of Capital Markets & Risk and Treasurer

Perfect. Thank you, Tomo. And thanks very much again for having us here today. Good afternoon, everybody. Before we begin, I just want to briefly note that today’s discussion will include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, and please refer to our SEC filings on our website for a discussion of those risk factors.

So with that, for those of you who may be less familiar