FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Research Alert: Bank Of Montreal: Q2 Fy 26 Earnings Beat On Healthy Capital Markets Activity

By

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

BMO reported Q2 FY 26 operating EPS of CAD3.67, beating consensus by CAD0.22 and up from CAD2.62 a year ago, while total revenue rose 10% to CAD9.567B. The strong performance was due to robust 20% growth in non-interest revenue to CAD4.299B, particularly in Capital Markets and Wealth Management. BMO's adjusted ROE showed meaningful improvement, rising 370 bps to 13.5%, reflecting the bank's ongoing efficiency efforts and operational momentum. The board increased the quarterly dividend 2% sequentially and 5% year-over-year to CAD1.71 per share. BMO announced a strategic transaction to sell its Transportation Finance and Vendor Finance businesses to Stonepeak for an expected pre-tax charge of approximately CAD1.1B in Q3, allowing portfolio optimization. The bank repurchased 6.0M shares during the quarter while maintaining a solid CET1 ratio of 13.0%. Credit quality remains mixed with provisions declining to CAD739M but gross impaired loans ticking up 2 bps to 1.01% amid contracting loan balances..

Related Articles

Research

Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Buy Rating On Shares Of Eli Lilly And Company

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our target to $1,255 from $1,225, 28.9x our 2027 EPS view, below LLY's five-year historical forward P/E average. We lift our 2026 EPS to $37.03 from $36.97 and raise our 2027 EPS to $43.42 from $42.22. We think LLY's continuous focus on external innovation to diversify its pipeline remains a key differentiator versus peers. LLY announced three vaccine deals today as part of a strategic push into infectious disease prevention. LLY is acquiring Curevo for up to $1.5B, gaining access to amezosvatein, a next-gen shingles vaccine that demonstrated comparable efficacy to the current standard while reducing side effects in Phase 2 trials. LLY is also acquiring LimmaTech Biologics for up to $780M, bringing a bacterial vaccine platform targeting antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. LLY is also acquiring Vaccine Company for up to $1.55B, adding an in vivo nanoparticle tech platform and a Phase 1-ready Epstein-Barr Virus vaccine candidate addressing a pathogen linked to multiple sclerosis and certain cancers.

$LLY
Research

Research Alert: Zs: Q3 Results Beat On Strong Arr Momentum, Though Guidance Was Mixed

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:ZS delivered strong Q3 FY 26 results, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.08 beating consensus by $0.07, while revenue of $850.5M grew 25% Y/Y, exceeding Street expectations by $14.8M. This marks consistent execution, with revenue growth maintaining the 25% level from Q2, demonstrating sustained business momentum across the platform. ARR growth remained solid at 25% Y/Y to $3.525B, with organic growth of 21% excluding the Red Canary acquisition contribution. The sequential improvement in net new ARR and record operating margin expansion to 23% reflect stronger demand and improved execution, in our view. Management raised full-year revenue guidance to $3.3295B-$3.3325B (24.6%-24.7% growth) and non-GAAP EPS guidance to $4.10-$4.11, both above consensus estimates, and benefiting from a reduced tax rate. However, FCF margin guidance was lowered to 22.8%-23.3% from 26.5%-27.0% due to higher capex investments, though we believe continued platform expansion investments position ZS well for sustained long-term growth.

$ZS
Research

Research Alert: Smtc: Beat And Raise; Emerging Optical Play

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:SMTC posted better-than-expected Apr-Q results, with revenue of $291.0M vs. $283.5M consensus, up 6% sequentially and 16% Y/Y. Non-GAAP adjusted operating margin expanded to 20.4% from 19.0% prior year, while adjusted diluted EPS surged 34% to $0.51, beating $0.45 consensus. Strong performance was driven by robust demand across the semiconductor portfolio, particularly within the Signal Integrity segment which generated $102.0M (+39% Y/Y) with 62.7% gross margin, benefiting from data center demand for next-generation optical interconnect technologies. Jul-Q guidance exceeded expectations, seeing revenue of $328.0M and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.61, representing approximately 13% sequential revenue growth and continued margin expansion to 21.9% adjusted operating margin, vs. consensus $301M/$0.51. We see upside as FiberEdge and CopperEdge 1.6T revenues will layer onto the existing growth base, with SMTC expecting data center growth to accelerate throughout the year.

$SMTC