#competition

Just another reason to change up the agency model and contracts. Wake-up people…

So basically, Bridgeport Partners owns CSI, which competes with Fiserv, and now they’re being brought in to run parts of our business — are things really that bad?

Dont know how we are doing with competition.

Go-Go has been saying for a while now that the “Transformation” that he’s inflicted on the company are going to show real results in the year 2027.
Things are going to have to pickup pretty soon because we’re nearly 5 months into 2026 and our stock is still badly lagging our 2 main competitors stock price.

Multiple gambling companies announced layoffs this week. Penn Entertainment cut over 75 employees from its interactive division. Gambling.com Group reduced its workforce by 25%, impacting around 150 people. LSports, an Israeli data provider, also laid off 39 employees. AI adoption, slowing growth, and new competition drive these cuts. The online gambling industry faces a broader recalibration.

https://frontofficesports.com/gambling-layoffs-pile-up-as-sports-betting-industry-recalibrates/

That might complicate business for Nike since biggest team dealer for Nike is BSN (overwhelmingly) and they are already part of KKR.

So KKR will own UA and do business with NIKE. Will they be fair with Nike or use Nike while they support their own UA. That is intriguing.

Once again, Nike in their hubris went around closing almost all of the independent team dealers. And pivoted all of the Nike's team business with BSN. Another brilliant march towards corner by our smart former CEOs MP and JD. They thought that they will maximize the profit if they deal with one big guy. Hmmm....yes but if that strategy turns against you then it might ki-l you too. LOL
BSN has already been producing their private label apparels. And if it gets supported by UA then they don't need Nike.
One time, I talked to former BSN VP and he was not too happy that they have order too much futures because Nike demands it therefore eating their profits. Maybe they won't be forced to order too much futures with UA that owned by KKR.
Since Nike has no other option, they might have to continue to do business with BSN even if they emphasize on their own brands.

One of the scenario is that they might sever ties with Nike and go exclusively with UA.
That would be devastating to Nike since Nike don't have anyone as big as BSN when it comes to team items. Eastbay had team business but they have closed their business.

And I don't know how Nike will combat KKR if it really happens since Nike is pauper compared to KKR. Yes, KKR has more money than GOD.

That was brilliant MP and JD. It was your fault

Currently, BSN is serving Nike's key high schools like Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, de la Salle on behalf of Nike, all over the USA. They might try to sign those school for themselves.
Once again, KKR has more money than God. And in addition to it Nike stock is totally depressed now and losing their shirts in China (3 billion feet). I am not sh-t talking it is in today WSJ.

Nike is currently a company that has Plan A but no Plan B nor Plan C. Why? Becuase they ki-led them all. The little account that is.

Did you see some of their World Cup kits? We could learn a thing or two from them at this point. At least somebody still seems capable of putting out work people get excited about.

Given the times what happening around the world, internal struggling, competitors with strong growth day by day, no wonder stock going down.

Online marketing company ZoomInfo plans to eliminate 600 jobs. This represents about 20% of its global workforce. The news accompanied weak financial results, sending the company's stock down 28% to an all-time low. ZoomInfo reported flat sales of $310 million in the first quarter of 2026. Investors are increasingly concerned about competition from artificial intelligence.

Vancouver, Washington

https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2026/05/vancouver-company-will-lay-off-600-worldwide-stock-falls-to-all-time-low.html

A lot of my coworkers are jumping ship to join Wells Fargo. What is the deal?

I work for Q, but I hate working here enough to buy its competitor's flagship.

While you are busy Mickey Mousing, cutting and laying off people every month without solving big problem. There is a marauder on the horizon. And I am afraid they are here is to conquer you.
And I am talking about Chinese Shoe Makers. Yes, those people that were making your contract Nikes are now have grown up.
I was at GuangZhou about 30 days ago and I had to admit that I was impressed of Anta and Li Ning. And the energy and motivation that I felt from them was same one that I got from Nike during 90s.
Just like Nike of yesterday years, NO was not an answer. Arrogance, entitlement, overconfidence was not with them yet.
And they are ready to expand. They conquered China and Asia. Now they are eyeing towards America.

Get your A game out!!

Or one IT design from Anta and it will leave Nike in the dust.

Albertsons is undertaking a new restructuring. Two retail locations in Texas ceased operations. This impacted 138 individuals. A major acquisition attempt involving Kroger collapsed. The company now faces intense competition alone.

Texas

https://internationalsupermarketnews.com/albertsons-at-a-crossroads-store-closures-layoffs-and-the-aftermath-of-a-failed-merger/

Adidas told Kanye West to pack it up and took the hit. Cleaned house. Nike keeps doubling down with Travis Scott looking for a shortcut to relevance.
Adidas reports earnings and the stock jumps. Nike reports earnings and the stock drops.
Adidas is back to making gear for actual athletes. Winning marathons, on the feet of the best young footballers, everywhere that performance still matters. Nike feels like it is selling nostalgia and hoping the logo carries it.

Look at basketball. Adidas got Anthony Edwards. Electric, marketable, and compared to Ja Morant headlines he looks like a saint. One company reset and moved forward. The other one is going to to keep slimming down to greatness… make it make sense.

The Missed Targets Report
​A report (notably from the Wall Street Journal) revealed that OpenAI failed to meet several key internal goals:

​User Growth: ChatGPT failed to reach its goal of 1 billion weekly active users by the end of 2025.

​Revenue: The company missed multiple monthly revenue targets in early 2026.

​Competition: Competitors like Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude are reportedly eating into OpenAI’s market share, particularly in the high-value coding and enterprise sectors.

For all the Nike hype and innovation that went into the Breaking Two event, I think it's pretty hilarious that it was a couple of ADIDAS runners that broke two hours and set the world record in the marathon in an actual official race!

A great achievement for mankind. Another failure for Nike.

https://wwd.com/footwear-news/sneaker-news/adidas-sneaker-london-marathon-records-1238929791/

Every so often I read a press release put out by some competitor that hired away one of our WMAs. They try to puff themselves up by saying “Stiffo Nickelback adds Billion dollar TIAA broker…”. What a joke. As if that advisor is going to bring over every account they ever touched. The truth is that the vast majority of those accounts barely know the name of the advisor without looking at their paperwork. The joke is on Stiffo Nickelback when that advisor’s non-compete is over and they can’t lure more than a few accounts because they really didn’t have any real wealth management relationship with the client beyond the initial sale. I’ve seen several articles in the past with different shops bragging about bringing over some “big hitter” advisor from TIAA. There is a huge difference between the quality of relationships for a wirehouse broker with a legit billion dollar book and a TIAA advisor who has 1200 accounts assigned to them and their assistant WMA. I enjoy knowing that these ex-WMAs who over sell themselves will be cut down to size when they can’t deliver

That is the exact message being sent with the appointment of HON to CEO of Lululemon. It’s disgusting that this website continues to censor every post like we are in greater china (with CS!) ha

Jokes aside, this is a serious matter - what is truly wrong with the world when the message is sent that you can destroy one of the biggest brands in the world and then get rewarded by becoming the ceo of a competitor. Absolutely egregious.

I’m sure this post will be deleted as everything is ultra censored on here but hopefully the message will come thru.

at least 'the other' company in OR is doing well

My wife's company used NetSuite as its accounting system. They paid the yearly software subscription fee, plus the technical support fee. Now it's coming time to renew, and NetSuite wanted to charge 25% more than last year, with no support.

They declined, and are now going with a competitor. Not a huge dollar amount in the grand scheme of things, but another loss for O makes me happy!

Is it now a fact that Sony won and Microsoft will simply lick its wounds and step away from Xbox and gaming in general? Am I being too paranoid, because that's certainly how it feels to me.

Look at what this company is dealing with. Debt that keeps growing. Competition that keeps getting stronger. Lawsuits that never seem to end. Any one of those would be bad, but all three together? I don't see a way out.

Central Garden & Pet will close its Henrico facility. This closure will result in 94 employee layoffs. Operations are consolidating to an existing New Jersey facility. The company cited increased competition and market pressures. The wind-down process is expected to finalize by June 30.

Henrico, Virginia

https://richmondbizsense.com/2026/04/16/homegrown-pet-treat-brand-best-bully-sticks-closing-henrico-facility-laying-off-dozens/

European oil refining margins turn negative, bucking global trend
4/14/2026 12:00:00 PM

European refining margins turn negative despite record fuel prices, IEA and traders report
Asian refiners' competition for crude drives up costs, squeezing European margins
Simpler European refineries may cut runs if margin pressure persists, analysts and sources say
European oil refining margins have turned negative, lagging stronger margins in Asia and the U.S., as competition for crude from Asian buyers due to the Iran war drives up costs even as fuel prices hit record highs, according to IEA data and trade sources.

Northwest European light sweet hydroskimming margins dropped to an average of minus $6.45 a barrel in the week beginning April 6, the IEA said in its monthly report.

Margins for medium sour cracking were also in negative territory, the data showed. Light sweet cracking margins remain positive, though they have also weakened significantly.

The margin squeeze is a consequence of the surge in physical crude prices to record highs as the war in Iran disrupts Middle East flows.

The narrowing European margin effectively shows that these plants would be running at a loss, and is likely to prompt some to process less crude into fuels, analysts said.

Simpler European refineries, which lack upgrading units to extract more higher-value products such as jet fuel, could be forced to trim runs if margins remain under pressure, though there is no sign of widespread cuts yet, trading sources said.

"As things stand, Europe is going to cut utilization," Sparta Commodities analyst Neil Crosby said, adding that runs could fall by as much as 500,000 barrels per day.

Asian competition for crude drives up prices. By contrast, in the U.S. Gulf, heavy sour coking margins strengthened last week compared with the March average, IEA data showed. In Singapore, similarly, medium sour cracking margins were also stronger last week than their March averages.

The squeeze in Europe reflects rising crude costs as Asian refiners compete aggressively for cargoes, several trading sources said, as well as higher operating costs such as for electricity and natural gas.

"It's typical of these crises," said a trading source at a European refinery. "Fuel cracks rise first, but as crude and other costs adjust, margins get dented." He added that their margin dropped from about $30 a barrel in the first week of the conflict to just over $4 currently.

The squeeze comes after margins globally soared in March, with those in Europe reaching record highs.

In Singapore, the IEA said, margins in March were some 14-fold higher than February levels, while in northwest Europe light sweet hydroskimming margins in March were more than nine times higher than in February at $15.20 a barrel.

Some refiners even delayed planned shutdowns to take advantage of the higher fuel prices.

Italy's 300,000 barrel per day Sarroch refinery, for instance, pushed a maintenance shutdown from late March to mid-May, industry monitor IIR said. The refinery's operator, Vitol, declined to comment.

https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2026/04/european-oil-refining-margins-turn-negative-bucking-global-trend/

All we do is new marketing brands

I would be curious to hear from folks that feel like they aren’t being considered for spots due to age. I know I have two other bad marks against me, white and male. But I’d honestly like to hear some feedback. More me personally I keep getting told it’s competitive out there but then I think maybe they forget that emails go out with who got selected for positions.

From product I see, adidas is about to pull the ki-l shot and eliminate Nike from performance running.

Not to mention legit running brands with top innovation ASICS, Brooks, Saucony with Hoka, New Balance and ON taking casual running.

Is it true that parts of the business are about to sold off?
FMS, that’s Mono pumps is apparently about to be sold one of its larger competitors!
If it’s true then it’s great that we will soon be managed more professionally but I’m sure it will lead to cuts as they have a lot of duplication of roles!
Brush up on your German guys, it’s about to get interesting

Doesn't Amazon S3 Files thing completely annihilate one of netapps' core revenue streams?

The company eventually achieved the Grand or GRAT target of 50 billion.
Well done, you may have sold your sole to do it.

Now, well the market is always hard, and these businesses, International Footwear and Apparel are competitive, fickle, and were roiled by COVID and Now Tariffs.

A managed teconstruction to a profitable 35 billion dollar firm, with International Licensees, like China would certainly serve TAK better.

is anyone else concerned about the future outlook of appian against the growing AI competitors? how long do you think we can manage before becoming obsolete?

I know T-Mobile has been struggling and has monthly layoffs. I want to work for the competition. They've been my coverage provider since I left college. I just want to know if they're hiring developers in this bleak job market. Pardon me if this isn't the right place to ask.

This is on the BNSF Webpage:
“Merger Response Resources”

“If you have concerns and reservations about the proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, or you believe conditions are needed to ensure the merger doesn't reduce your competitive options, it is important that the Surface Transportation Board hear from you now and at every opportunity during the regulatory review process. Your voice matters.”

It’s like it’s another way of saying that they don’t want to compete with UP even more. It’s funny how they act like they care about the customer when they’ve ripped them off for years as well. If you want the customer’s business, lower your prices and offer better service. Simple. You know it as well as everyone else.

Verizon Fios smells blood in the water. Customers will be jumping as this rolls out in Brookhaven.

https://greaterlongisland.com/brookhaven-verizon-fios-cable-franchise-agreement/

Company lost so many customers that revenue took a significant hit. As such in April 2026 they will be raising prices for over 1.5 million customers to squeeze more revenue out of them. Prediction, it pi---s more customers off and accelerates the customer exodus to competitors.

How many competitors has CVS put out of business? Independent pharmacies, small chains, regional chains, and so forth. CVS has put so many out of business. Yet when it happens to them, they cry foul, or they cry government overreach. Yet CVS doesn't realize that you reap what you sow. CVS owns the largest PBM, they own the largest pharmacy chain, they own one of the biggest insurance companies, not to mention all the other various companies they own. They've become like a monopoly because they own so much market share.

All that said, it's very hypocritical of CVS to cry foul, when the very same thing they do to others is done to them. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Corporate you reap what you sow.

Much like when First Data came in, why hasn't anyone else scooped in to take over and acquire the client base? Only thing of value are the customers we still have.

Seems the place is ripe for the taking.

Total opposite of other analysts and certainly no belief in management. Mayo hasn’t been this tough and we know how he feels about BillyBob and his management.

Jefferies initiated coverage on Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE:TFC) with an underperform rating and set a price target of $35.00, representing a significant 23% downside from the current stock price of $45.39. This bearish stance contrasts sharply with the broader analyst consensus of Hold, with price targets ranging from $48.50 to $69.
The firm cited execution risk related to the bank achieving its return on tangible common equity target of 15% in fiscal year 2026, up from 13% in fiscal year 2025. The challenge appears substantial given that Truist’s return on common equity currently stands at just 8% as of the last twelve months. According to InvestingPro analysis, 8 analysts have revised their earnings downwards for the upcoming period, though the stock trades at a P/E ratio of 11.86 and offers a dividend yield of 4.59%.
Jefferies said intensifying competition in the Southeast may hinder loan and deposit growth and add friction to the company’s hiring plans.
The firm noted that even if Truist Financial meets its ROTCE target, it would trail peers at 17% in fiscal year 2027.
Jefferies said the expected performance gap warrants a discounted valuation for the stock.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

"The C1X elevates Apple’s in-house RF capabilities to tier 1 status. Data from Q4 2025 unequivocally demonstrates that Apple’s in-house C1X modem represents a generational leap over the previous C1 model. Our data indicates that it has achieved real-world parity in download and latency performance with the Qualcomm X80 across numerous networks in both ideal and challenging conditions, proving the silicon is a performance equalizer rather than a compromise."

https://www.ookla.com/articles/apple-iphone-air-c1x-modem-q4-2025

The "Break Up Big Medicine Act," introduced in February 2026 by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley, seeks to dismantle vertically integrated healthcare conglomerates. It aims to prohibit companies from owning both healthcare providers and insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), or wholesalers, reducing conflicts of interest, lowering costs, and increasing competition.