Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spring Statement on March 3, just over three months after her November Budget, in what is expected to be a lower-key fiscal event focused more on forecasts than fresh policy announcements.

Unlike the autumn Budget, the Spring Statement is not expected to contain tax rises or major spending cuts. Reeves has pledged to limit significant fiscal changes to a single annual event, giving herself £21.7bn of headroom in November to avoid returning with further measures before the autumn.

Nevertheless, the update will be closely watched as the Office for Budget Responsibility publishes revised forecasts for growth, borrowing and the public finances.

Although the OBR will no longer formally assess performance against fiscal rules twice a year, economists will scrutinise its projections to determine whether the government remains on track.

Some analysts expect a modest increase in Reeves’s fiscal headroom to around £24bn. A fall in that buffer could reignite speculation about future tax rises, particularly if weaker growth or higher borrowing narrows the margin. Conversely, a significant rise in headroom could intensify pressure from within Labour to loosen spending plans.

Ruth Gregory of Capital Economics has warned the statement could become “another flashpoint” if fiscal space tightens. James Smith of the Resolution Foundation said the government should not allow economic policy to stall until the autumn, arguing that more should be done to address sluggish growth and rising unemployment.

No tax rises – for now

Fresh tax measures are not expected in March, but debate over fiscal strategy is likely to intensify. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has argued that frequent adjustments driven by narrow headroom targets create instability and undermine long-term policymaking.

The IFS has proposed a shift towards a broader “fiscal traffic lights” framework to reduce the need for rushed policy changes when forecasts fluctuate.

The statement also comes after controversy at the OBR, which accidentally published market-sensitive material ahead of the November Budget. Former chair Richard Hughes stepped down following the incident, and the watchdog will release its new forecasts without a permanent successor in place.

With the government prioritising economic expansion, Reeves is expected to reiterate commitments to boost investment, support employment and stabilise public finances.

While the Spring Statement may lack the drama of a Budget, it will provide an important snapshot of the UK’s economic trajectory, and a signal of whether the chancellor’s fiscal strategy remains intact ahead of what could be a more consequential autumn showdown.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

Shares of Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC), the parent company that owns the SanDisk brand, closed at $68.42 on Monday, February 23, 2026, up 1.8% from the previous session’s $67.21 finish. The gain reflected renewed investor optimism about the NAND flash memory market’s recovery and Western Digital’s positioning to benefit from surging demand for high-capacity storage in AI data centers, enterprise servers, and consumer devices.

Western Digital’s market capitalization stood at approximately $23.8 billion at Monday’s close. The stock has climbed more than 65% over the past 12 months and is up roughly 22% year-to-date in 2026, recovering strongly from lows near $35 in mid-2025. Trading volume reached about 4.8 million shares, near average for the name.

The rally has been driven by a combination of improving NAND pricing, signs of inventory normalization across the supply chain, and growing recognition of Western Digital’s role in the AI infrastructure buildout. After a prolonged downturn in 2023-2024 marked by oversupply and price collapses, NAND flash spot prices have risen steadily since mid-2025, with 128Gb TLC NAND up more than 40% year-over-year according to TrendForce and other industry trackers.

Western Digital’s most recent earnings, reported January 30, 2026, for its fiscal second quarter (ended December 27, 2025), showed revenue of $4.3 billion (up 28% year-over-year) and non-GAAP EPS of $0.42 (beating consensus of $0.31). Flash revenue grew 39% sequentially and 45% year-over-year, fueled by higher average selling prices and strong demand for enterprise SSDs and client SSDs. HDD revenue rose modestly, supported by nearline drives used in cloud and AI storage.

CEO David Goeckeler highlighted the company’s “strong execution” in diversifying its portfolio and capitalizing on AI-driven storage needs. Western Digital has ramped production of high-capacity BiCS8 3D NAND (218-layer and beyond) and advanced QLC technologies, positioning it to meet demand for cost-effective, high-density storage in hyperscale data centers. The company also emphasized progress on its separation of flash and HDD businesses, with the flash unit (SanDisk-branded products) expected to operate as a standalone entity by late 2026 or early 2027, potentially unlocking value for shareholders.

Analysts have grown increasingly bullish. Consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average 12-month price target around $78-$82 (implying 14-20% upside from current levels). Recent updates include Morgan Stanley raising its target to $90 from $80 (Overweight), citing NAND price momentum and Western Digital’s strong position in enterprise and client SSDs. Deutsche Bank maintained Buy at $85, while a few firms hold Hold ratings with targets near $70, expressing caution over cyclical risks and competition from Samsung, SK hynix, Micron, and Kioxia.

The AI boom has become a key tailwind. Hyperscalers and cloud providers are deploying massive GPU clusters that require enormous amounts of high-performance, high-capacity storage for training datasets, inference caches, and checkpointing. Western Digital’s Ultrastar DC SN655 and SN850 enterprise SSDs, along with its high-density QLC drives, are gaining traction in these workloads. Analysts estimate that AI-related storage demand could drive NAND bit growth of 25-30% annually through 2028.

Challenges remain. The NAND market remains cyclical, and any slowdown in AI capex or renewed oversupply could pressure prices. Western Digital’s gross margins (around 32-34% non-GAAP in recent quarters) are improving but still lag peers due to higher manufacturing costs and ongoing foundry investments. The planned flash-HDD separation carries execution risk and potential short-term costs.

The company maintains a solid balance sheet with more than $2.5 billion in cash and manageable debt. Free cash flow turned positive in fiscal 2025, and management targets sustained positive FCF generation in 2026.

Looking ahead, Western Digital’s next earnings report is expected in late April or early May 2026 for the fiscal third quarter. Investors will watch for updates on NAND pricing trends, enterprise SSD demand, progress on the business separation, and any new AI-focused product announcements.

SanDisk-branded products — including portable SSDs, microSD cards, USB drives, and consumer storage solutions — continue to hold strong brand recognition and market share in retail channels. The brand benefits from Western Digital’s scale and technology leadership in flash memory.

As AI infrastructure spending accelerates and NAND supply-demand dynamics improve, Western Digital (and by extension SanDisk) appears well-positioned for further recovery. The stock’s recent strength reflects growing confidence in the company’s ability to capitalize on secular storage demand, though cyclical risks and execution hurdles remain.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) shares closed at $43.63 on Monday, February 23, 2026, down 1.09% from the previous session’s $44.11 finish, but the stock showed resilience in pre-market trading Tuesday, February 24, climbing about 1.4% to around $44.24 after news of a multi-year technical partnership with AI chip startup SambaNova Systems.

The modest decline capped a volatile period for the semiconductor giant, which has traded in a 52-week range of $17.67 to $54.60. Year-to-date in 2026, INTC is up roughly 18-20% from late-2025 levels, reflecting cautious optimism about new CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s turnaround efforts, though the stock remains well below its 2021 peak and faces persistent valuation and execution questions.

Intel’s market capitalization stands at approximately $217-220 billion, supported by a cash position and CHIPS Act funding but weighed down by ongoing foundry losses and competitive pressures in AI and data center chips. Trading volume on February 23 reached about 57 million shares, near average for the name.

The latest catalyst came Tuesday when Intel announced it is participating in SambaNova’s $350 million Series E funding round and entering a multi-year technical collaboration. SambaNova, a maker of generative AI chips, will adopt Intel server processors and graphics cards for its systems, while Intel gains exposure to advanced AI workloads. The deal follows reports of failed acquisition talks between the companies and underscores Intel’s push to strengthen its AI ecosystem amid dominance by Nvidia and competition from AMD.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took the helm in late 2025, has emphasized partnerships and ecosystem building as part of Intel’s recovery strategy. The SambaNova tie-up provides a positive signal, but analysts note it is incremental rather than transformative given Intel’s broader challenges in foundry profitability and AI market share.

Recent performance has been choppy. After rallying to the mid-$50s in January 2026 on optimism around Tan’s leadership and foundry progress, shares pulled back sharply following weaker-than-expected Q1 2026 guidance in early February. The company projected Q1 revenue of $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion, below some estimates, reflecting supply constraints and soft PC demand.

Full-year 2025 results (reported earlier) showed revenue growth but persistent foundry losses exceeding $2.5 billion annually. Management targets foundry breakeven by 2027-2028, with customer commitments for the 14A process expected in the second half of 2026. An Analyst Day planned for Santa Clara in H2 2026 will detail how AI infrastructure spending translates to shareholder returns.

Analyst views remain divided. Consensus rating is Hold to Moderate Buy, with an average 12-month price target around $45-48 (implying limited upside from current levels). Recent notes include caution over Nova Lake CPU delays (now pushed beyond CES 2027) and Meta’s shift toward Nvidia for some CPU workloads, potentially pressuring Intel’s data center position. However, bulls highlight undervaluation, government support, and potential upside from foundry ramps and AI partnerships.

Institutional activity shows mixed flows: some funds increased stakes, while others trimmed amid uncertainty. Insider buying by executives has been modest but positive.

Looking ahead, the next major update is Q1 2026 earnings (expected late April), where investors will seek clarity on foundry progress, AI GPU traction (including Gaudi and upcoming Falcon Shores), and any new customer wins. The stock’s trajectory depends on execution against ambitious goals in a highly competitive landscape.

For now, Intel remains a high-risk, high-reward turnaround story. Its cash position and strategic shifts provide a foundation, but near-term volatility persists as the market weighs AI spending sustainability, foundry profitability, and competition from Nvidia, AMD, and custom silicon players.

Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) shares tumbled sharply in trading on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, falling as much as 9% intraday to around $14.07-$14.40 after the telehealth company issued first-quarter 2026 revenue guidance that missed Wall Street estimates, citing regulatory headwinds to its compounded semaglutide offerings.

The stock closed the prior session (February 23) at $15.51, down 0.77%, with after-hours and pre-market action pushing it lower to reflect investor disappointment with the outlook. Volume spiked to over 18-43 million shares in recent sessions, well above average, as the reaction erased much of the recent recovery gains. Year-to-date in 2026, HIMS is down more than 50%, with the stock trading near its 52-week low of $13.74-$15.15 after peaking above $70 in mid-2025.

Hims & Hers reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on February 23, posting revenue of $617.8 million for Q4 (up 28% year-over-year) and full-year revenue of $2.35 billion (up 59%). Adjusted EBITDA reached $318 million for the year, with net income of $128 million and subscribers surpassing 2.5 million (up 13%). Q4 EPS of $0.08 beat consensus estimates of $0.02-$0.05, reflecting solid execution in personalized care, weight-loss products, and non-GLP-1 categories.

However, the company’s Q1 2026 guidance of $600 million to $625 million fell short of analyst expectations around $653 million. Management attributed a $65 million headwind to regulatory changes impacting compounded semaglutide shipping and availability. Full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion aligned with or slightly topped consensus of $2.74 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is projected at $300 million to $375 million (margin of 11-13%).

The miss on Q1 guidance overshadowed the beat, with analysts and investors focusing on the near-term impact of compounding restrictions. Hims & Hers vowed to maintain its 2030 revenue target of more than $6.5 billion, emphasizing growth in personalized non-weight-loss offerings, overseas expansion, and subscriber retention through AI-driven care.

BTIG Research downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral on February 24, citing the regulatory pressure and softer short-term outlook. Other firms maintained cautious stances, though some bulls argue the pullback creates an attractive entry given long-term tailwinds in telehealth and personalized medicine. Consensus price targets range widely from the high $20s to $60+, with an average around $27-33 (implying significant upside from current levels for believers).

Hims & Hers has built a strong position in direct-to-consumer health, offering treatments for sexual health, hair loss, mental health, dermatology, and weight management via telehealth consultations and compounded medications. The GLP-1 weight-loss category drove rapid growth in 2025, but regulatory scrutiny on compounded versions of drugs like semaglutide (used in Ozempic/Wegovy) has introduced uncertainty.

The company continues to scale its platform, with 65% of users now receiving personalized care and revenue per subscriber rising 11% to $83. Balance sheet strength remains a positive: operating cash flow reached $300 million in 2025, with liquidity over $900 million and no significant debt.

The stock’s sharp decline reflects a classic growth-to-value rotation, where high-multiple names face pressure when near-term visibility softens. Despite the pullback, Hims & Hers maintains a forward-looking narrative centered on digital health innovation, subscriber loyalty, and expansion into new categories and markets.

Investors await further clarity on regulatory outcomes for compounded GLP-1s and progress on international growth. The next earnings report is expected in early May 2026, with focus on Q1 performance and updated 2026 commentary.

Hims & Hers remains a polarizing name: bulls see a scalable, high-margin platform with massive addressable market, while bears highlight regulatory risks, competition, and valuation compression in a tougher macro environment for growth stocks.

A company that makes self-defense products has spent the last few years moving much of its manufacturing to the U.S. and is finding the benefits extend beyond having the ability to put a “Made in America” label on their products.

Byrna Technologies, which makes non-lethal personal security devices that can launch plastic or chemical irritant rounds, moved its main manufacturing facility from South Africa to Indiana in 2021 and began finding qualified U.S. component suppliers to prevent supply chain disruptions like what transpired during the pandemic.

“There are over 100 components that go into our launchers, we wanted redundancy on all of them,” Byrna Technologies CEO Bryan Ganz told FOX Business. “Generally, the offshore manufacturers were a little bit less expensive, so they got the majority of the production.”

Byrna Technologies moved its main manufacturing facility from South Africa to Indiana in 2021. (Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“But when it was evident that Donald Trump was going to be elected president, we said, ‘You know what, he’s been very, very vocal about tariffs, this is probably a good time for us to start the process of moving the supply chain back on-shore,’” Ganz said.

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“We started this even before the tariffs were announced. When the tariffs were announced, we were feeling pretty smart about ourselves that we had correctly surmised that we would be able to on-shore things,” he added.

Ganz said that while the process of onshoring more of Byrna’s supply chain before the Trump administration’s tariffs were implemented last year, the tariffs made domestic production more cost-effective and the onshoring process revealed other benefits.

“It was very interesting because not only was it much cheaper with the imposition of the tariffs to be producing in the U.S., but we also discovered all sorts of soft cost benefits,” he said.

Byrna Technologies moved its manufacturing back to the U.S. before President Donald Trump implemented tariffs. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

“When you’re supplying componentry from offshore, you either have air freight costs, you have lengthy ocean voyages – when you’re supplying it from a hundred miles away by truck, you can be much more responsive to changes in consumer demand. If I need to visit the factory because there’s a quality problem, I can do it.”

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He added that while Byrna continues to buy some of its accessories from offshore suppliers, the company has focused its onshoring effort on the most critical aspects of its product, such as the launcher itself and its ammunition.

“We’re making self-defense products and I think the quality of the product, the dependability of the product, is really important to our consumers, so the Made in America moniker is very, very meaningful for our type of product,” he explained.

Ganz noted that Byrna closed its ammunition manufacturing facility in South Africa and moved it to a newly built facility in Fort Wayne that’s five miles away from the company’s facility where its launchers are produced.

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The company’s latest launcher, the Byrna CL, was made of 34% U.S. components prior to the reshoring effort, but the launcher is now made with 92% U.S. components.

“It’s not without some cost. We’ve seen a couple percentage points increase in our cost as a result of bringing it back to the U.S., because of course, we would have been making it in the U.S. to begin with if it was the same price,” Ganz said. “But our margins have remained within two percentage points – last year we were 62% and this year we were 60.5-61% – so it was a de minimis impact on the cost.”

Ganz added that the tariffs were a determining factor in some of its reshoring decisions due to the higher cost of the import levies.

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“When we ship something up, even though it may have been 10% less expensive than building it here, not so when you put a 30% tariff on. I’m a very patriotic guy, I like making stuff here in America. On the other hand, we’re a public company, we have shareholders – we have to look at what’s in the best interest of our shareholders,” he said. “With the tariffs, it was clear that it became less expensive to build in the U.S. than to build offshore.”

Ganz added that Byrna maintains some component manufacturing abroad to keep redundancy in the supply chain to guard against vulnerabilities that would arise if a domestic facility were to go offline unexpectedly, but the onshoring push has brought the company’s overall supply chain into the 80%-90% range for domestically-sourced components.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares declined 3.2% on Monday, February 23, 2026, closing at $348.12 after trading in a range of $345.80 to $357.45. The drop came as investors digested the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 delivery figures released earlier in February and weighed ongoing uncertainty around production ramps, competition in electric vehicles, and CEO Elon Musk’s shifting priorities toward artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics.

Tesla’s market capitalization stood at approximately $1.11 trillion at Monday’s close, down from peaks above $1.3 trillion in late 2025. The stock has gained roughly 4% year-to-date in 2026 but remains volatile, trading about 28% below its all-time high of $488.54 (split-adjusted) set in December 2024. Average daily volume has hovered around 85-90 million shares in recent sessions, reflecting continued retail and institutional interest despite a cooling in the meme-stock fervor of prior years.

The latest catalyst was Tesla’s Q4 2025 production and delivery report, issued February 2, 2026. The company produced 495,570 vehicles and delivered 484,507 — both figures below Wall Street consensus estimates of approximately 510,000-515,000 deliveries. Full-year 2025 deliveries totaled 1.81 million vehicles, marking the first annual decline since 2011 and falling short of Musk’s earlier goal of 20-30% growth. The shortfall was attributed to factory retooling for refreshed Model Y production, softer demand in Europe and China, and intensified competition from BYD, Rivian, and legacy automakers.

Despite the miss, Tesla maintained strong profitability metrics. Adjusted operating income reached $3.2 billion in Q4, with automotive gross margins holding above 18% excluding regulatory credits. Energy storage deployments surged 157% year-over-year to 11.0 GWh, underscoring growth in the Megapack and Powerwall businesses. Free cash flow remained positive at $2.1 billion for the quarter, supported by a cash position exceeding $33 billion.

Musk used the earnings call to pivot attention toward future growth drivers beyond EVs. He reiterated that Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, represents “the biggest product opportunity in history” and projected millions of units annually within five years. The company showcased Optimus performing household tasks at the “We, Robot” event in October 2025 and confirmed limited production for internal use in 2026, with external sales targeted for 2027. Musk also highlighted progress on Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, with version 13.2 rolling out to more users and unsupervised driving demos in Texas and California.

Analyst reactions were mixed. Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating with a $430 price target, citing robotics and AI as transformative long-term catalysts. Wedbush kept an Outperform at $515, emphasizing energy storage and autonomy upside. However, GLJ Research reiterated a Sell rating with a $23 target, arguing that current valuation assumes flawless execution on unproven initiatives while core EV growth slows. Consensus price target sits around $385-390, implying 10-12% upside from current levels, with ratings split roughly 60% Buy, 30% Hold, and 10% Sell.

The stock’s recent weakness aligns with broader EV sector pressures. Global electric vehicle sales growth has moderated in 2025-2026, with incentives phasing out in some markets and charging infrastructure still lagging in others. Tesla faces heightened competition in China, where BYD overtook it as the world’s largest EV seller by volume in 2025. Price cuts implemented in late 2025 and early 2026 helped stabilize demand but compressed margins.

Tesla’s energy business continues to shine as a bright spot. Megapack deployments are scaling rapidly, with new factories in Shanghai and Texas coming online. The segment posted record profitability in Q4, with gross margins exceeding 30%. Analysts project energy storage could contribute 15-20% of total revenue by 2027-2028 if current trends hold.

Regulatory and legal headwinds persist. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues investigating FSD-related crashes, while multiple class-action lawsuits allege misleading statements about autonomy timelines. Musk’s political involvement, including his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Trump, has sparked debate about potential conflicts of interest and regulatory favoritism.

Looking ahead, Tesla’s next major update is the Q1 2026 production and delivery report expected in early April. Wall Street anticipates around 420,000-440,000 deliveries for the quarter, reflecting seasonal softness and ongoing Model Y refresh impacts. The earnings call, scheduled for late April, will provide further color on Optimus timelines, Robotaxi progress, and energy growth.

For now, Tesla stock trades at a forward P/E of approximately 80-90x consensus 2026 EPS estimates of $3.80-$4.00, well above traditional automakers but justified by bulls as a bet on AI, robotics, and energy rather than pure EV sales. Bears argue the multiple leaves little room for error if autonomy or humanoid timelines slip.

As February 2026 draws to a close, Tesla remains a high-conviction, high-volatility name. Its trajectory hinges on execution across multiple moonshot bets — from FSD and Robotaxi to Optimus and energy storage — while navigating a maturing EV market and macroeconomic crosscurrents.

This article was written by

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