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FINWIRES

Research Alert: Efx Q1 Beat: Mortgage Surge Drives 14% Revenue Growth, Innovation Accelerates

-- CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

EFX delivered strong Q1 results with adjusted EPS of $1.86 vs. $1.53 the prior year, beating consensus by $0.16. Revenue of $1.65B (+14%) exceeded guidance by $37M and Street estimates by $30M, due to exceptional 38% U.S. Mortgage growth in Jan-Feb before the Iran conflict impacted rates. Broad-based operational strength emerged across segments, with USIS delivering outstanding 21% growth (well above 6%-8% framework) from 60% Mortgage expansion and steady Diversified Markets performance. Innovation momentum accelerated with Vitality Index reaching record 17% vs. 10% target, reflecting successful EFX Cloud and AI platform deployment from nearly $3B in technology investments. Strong cash generation enabled $327M in shareholder returns including $260M in buybacks and $67M dividends, while FCF of $121.5M supports continued cloud transformation investments that should drive sustained growth as initiatives gain market traction, in our view.

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Oil & Energy

US Biofuels Update: Soybean Oil Hits New Highs Amid Middle East Uncertainty

Biofuels feedstock futures closed higher on Tuesday, as soybean oil futures reached a new high amid uncertainty in the Middle East peace talks.The Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures contract closed 0.75% higher at $11.74 per bushel, and the CBOT May soybean oil futures contract settled 3.60% higher at 72.14 cents per pound.On Monday, the May ethanol futures contract on the Nymex ended 0.26% higher at $1.90 per gallon.Energy markets were moderately higher as US and Iranian officials are reportedly set to meet in Pakistan on Tuesday.Rhett Montgomery, DTN analyst, said that soybeans led the way higher, primarily borrowing strength from the soybean oil market.Montgomery said that firm crude oil and diesel futures certainly played a role, along with continued trend-based buying as traders remain very bullish on soybean oil demand prospects in light of last month's bullish Environmental Protection Agency mandates."The state of negotiations in the Middle East and subsequent status of trade through the Strait of Hormuz continues to cast a large shadow over the soybean market (and markets in general)," Montgomery stated in a daily note.

Australia

Market Chatter: Meta Platforms to Track Employees' Mouse Movements, Keystrokes for AI Training

Meta Platforms (META) is installing software to track mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes of US employees in an effort to train its artificial intelligence models, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing an internal memo.The owner of Facebook and Instagram will use Model Capability Initiative, a tool that will run on work-related apps and websites and will also gather occasional snapshots of the content on employee's screens, according to the report.The collected data is intended to improve the tech giant's AI models, which currently struggle to replicate how humans engage with computers, particularly when selecting from dropdown menus and using keyboard shortcuts, the media outlet reported.Meta did not immediately respond to' request for comment.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)Price: $674.18, Change: $+3.27, Percent Change: +0.49%

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Sectors

Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were declining in late Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.3%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.8%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) fell 1.6%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.2% to $75,717, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 4.2 basis points to 4.29%.In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is working to secure approval from securities regulators in China to launch actively managed exchange-traded funds in the country for the first time, Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan shares were down 0.7%.

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