TI, Texas Utilities and Airlines Lead Earnings News

Texas Instruments reports recovery and strong 2026 outlook

Texas Instruments reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $4.42 billion, up 10.4% year on year, with analog revenue up 14% and embedded processing up 8%. Net income was $1.16 billion, or $1.27 per share, including a 6‑cent reduction not in original guidance. For full-year 2025, cash flow from operations was $7.2 billion and capital expenditures $4.6 billion, leaving free cash flow of $2.9 billion, or 17% of revenue.

Management said the overall semiconductor market recovery is continuing, led by strong demand in industrial and data center end markets. In 2025, industrial and automotive each generated $5.8 billion of revenue, or 33% of the total, while data center revenue rose 64% to $1.5 billion, or 9% of revenue. The company highlighted seven consecutive quarters of data center growth and said data center revenue exited 2025 at about $450 million per quarter.

Texas Instruments guided first‑quarter 2026 revenue to a range of $4.32 billion to $4.68 billion and earnings per share between $1.22 and $1.48, a profile that analysts on the call described as stronger than normal seasonality. The company expects its effective tax rate in 2026 to be about 13% to 14%. Management reiterated that pricing is expected to be a low‑single‑digit headwind in 2026, similar to 2025, and said the above‑seasonal outlook is driven by higher orders, particularly in industrial and data center, rather than price increases.

Executives said they are nearing the end of a six‑year elevated capital expenditure cycle that expands 300‑millimeter manufacturing capacity. They reiterated 2026 capex guidance of $2 billion to $3 billion and noted that, with the U.S. CHIPS Act investment tax credit at 35% from January 1, 2026, net capital intensity over time should approximate long‑term revenue growth. Inventory stood at $4.8 billion at year‑end, and management described its position across technologies as a strategic asset to support high levels of just‑in‑time demand.

Utilities and REITs focus on infrastructure and dividends

Black Hills Corporation reported that it completed construction and energization of its $350 million, 260‑mile Ready Wyoming electric transmission expansion. The project, placed into service on schedule in December 2025, links its electric systems across South Dakota and Wyoming. Management said the line is designed to support long‑term cost stability, improve reliability, expand access to regional power markets, and enable future energy development in Wyoming.

Bank of America on January 23 raised its price target on Black Hills to $72 from $70 and maintained a Neutral rating, citing a roll‑forward of its valuation to 2028 earnings and revised peer multiples. The company expects to recover about $300 million of the Ready Wyoming investment through a Wyoming Transmission Rider and the remaining approximately $50 million tied to distribution upgrades through base rates at the next rate review.

Prologis announced the tax treatment of its 2025 distributions for both common and preferred shareholders. The company detailed the characterization of its Series Q cumulative redeemable preferred dividends, breaking out ordinary taxable income, qualified dividends, long‑term capital gains and Section 199A amounts for each quarterly payment. Prologis emphasized that its federal income tax return for 2025 has not yet been filed and recommended that investors consult tax advisors because state and local taxation of REIT distributions may differ from federal rules.

Airline sector reacts to American’s Q4 miss and outlook

American Airlines Group shares fell 7% to $13.55 after the company reported fourth‑quarter 2025 earnings that missed analysts’ expectations on both revenue and profit. Management estimated that the U.S. government shutdown caused a $325 million hit to Q4 results. The airline also said winter storm Fern is expected to have roughly a $175 million impact on first‑quarter 2026 results, weighing on guidance.

Despite the near‑term pressures, American Airlines told investors it plans to generate $2 billion in free cash flow in 2026 and noted that it paid down more than $2 billion of its over $30 billion in long‑term debt. Trading volume in the stock on the day of the report reached 100.9 million shares, about 82% above its three‑month average, as investors compared earnings and outlooks across the airline sector, where Delta and United also declined.

Analyst moves highlight changing views across sectors

Morgan Stanley on January 23 cut its price target on Chevron to $174 from $180 while reiterating an Overweight rating, reflecting lower 2026–2027 oil price assumptions based on early‑January futures prices. The firm said Chevron’s fourth‑quarter operational update should be “fairly clean,” though cash flow is expected to be lighter on weaker price realizations. Separately, Reuters reported that Chevron is in final‑stage talks to sell its Singapore refining and distribution assets to Eneos and Glencore in a package valued at $1 billion or more as part of a broader exit from certain Asian refining and storage assets.

In agricultural commodities, JPMorgan on January 21 raised its price target on Archer‑Daniels‑Midland to $60 from $59 but kept an Underweight rating. The bank cited an improved industry environment and soybean board crush futures that indicate margin tailwinds into 2026. Wells Fargo on January 23 reduced its target on Mosaic to $27 from $28 and maintained an Equal Weight rating, pointing to a softer view on fourth‑quarter volumes after Mosaic reported sharply weaker fertilizer demand, particularly in phosphates, and said full‑year 2025 volumes were roughly flat at about 9 million tonnes.

Within financials, Stephens raised its price target on United Bankshares to $44 from $40 and kept an Equal Weight rating after United posted fourth‑quarter 2025 net income of $128.8 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, and annualized returns of 1.52% on average assets and 14.86% on average tangible equity. Piper Sandler downgraded Old Republic International to Neutral from Overweight and cut its target to $38 from $51 following Q4 2025 results that showed pretax operating income falling to $236 million from $285 million a year earlier and the consolidated combined ratio worsening to 96% from 92.7%.