EFSC misses Q2 estimates by 17% as revenue and EPS fall short

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Jul 23 2026, 19:03

Alignment Healthcare drops 17% as whistleblower alleges accounting fraud

Alignment Healthcare Inc. shares fell 17% after a former executive alleged the company inflated financial results through accounting irregularities. The lawsuit, filed July 8 by Hakan Kardes, who served as chief transformation officer from 2019 to 2025, claims Alignment misclassified operating expenses as capital expenditures. The practice artificially boosted adjusted EBITDA for 2024 and 2025, according to the complaint, tying the inflated metrics to both the company's stock price and executive compensation. Kardes alleges the misclassification was not an isolated error but a deliberate pattern designed to meet internal targets and maximize bonus payouts. The allegations followed a period of strong performance. Alignment had reported robust first-quarter 2026 results, including significant revenue growth, a swing to profitability, and raised full-year guidance, pushing shares toward 52-week highs. The 17% single-day decline on July 8 was the stock's steepest since February 2024, erasing much of those gains and wiping out hundreds of millions in market capitalization. National shareholder rights firm Hagens Berman said July 23 it is investigating potential securities law violations by the company. "We're investigating whether Alignment Healthcare misled investors by disseminating false and misleading information regarding its financial health and internal controls," Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the probe, said. The firm urged investors who suffered significant losses to contact them, noting that whistleblowers with non-public information may qualify for SEC rewards of up to 30% of any recovery. The whistleblower suit adds regulatory and litigation risk to a company that had been gaining traction with investors. Alignment, which operates Medicare Advantage plans across multiple states, had positioned itself as a growth story in the managed care space, competing with larger players such as UnitedHealth Group and Humana. Its next catalyst is the second-quarter 2026 earnings report, where investors will scrutinize any revisions to previously reported financials and assess the potential for restatements. The SEC could also open its own investigation into the allegations, adding further uncertainty to the stock's near-term outlook. The case highlights the risk of aggressive accounting practices in the Medicare Advantage sector, where adjusted EBITDA is a closely watched metric for valuation. Shareholder class actions typically follow such whistleblower complaints, potentially adding legal costs and settlement liabilities for the company. For investors, the key question is whether the accounting issues are limited to the periods cited or indicate broader control weaknesses. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Jul 23 2026, 18:56

SL Green beats Q2 estimates as NYC office demand lifts revenue 16.5%

SL Green Realty Corp. posted funds from operations of $1.43 a share for the second quarter, beating the $1.19 consensus by 20.2%, as Manhattan's largest office landlord benefited from surging demand for premium workspace in New York City. "The leasing environment in Manhattan has never been stronger for high-quality, transit-oriented office space," said Marc Holliday, chairman and chief executive officer at SL Green, in a statement. "We signed 53 office leases totaling 445,161 square feet in the quarter, with replacement rents 18% above prior levels." Revenue climbed 16.5% to $171.8 million, topping the $171.5 million estimate, driven by higher rental income and fee income that rose to $19.4 million from $12.2 million a year earlier. Same-store cash net operating income excluding lease termination income increased 4.3% in Manhattan. The company's occupancy rate reached 94.7% as of June 30, up from 93% at the end of 2025 and 94.4% at the end of the first quarter, with management targeting 95% by year-end. The results underscore a broader recovery in New York's office market, where companies are consolidating into premium buildings near transit hubs to attract workers back to the office. SL Green signed a 10-year lease with an unnamed leading AI tenant for 98,420 square feet at 11 Madison Avenue during the quarter, and has now signed 1.48 million square feet of office leases year to date with a pipeline exceeding 900,000 square feet. The company raised its 2026 FFO guidance by $1.20 at the midpoint to $5.60-$5.90 a share, citing higher net operating income, incremental fees, and additional income from One Vanderbilt Avenue. Net income guidance was also raised to $0.20-$0.50 a share from a prior range of negative $0.27 to $0.03. **Investment Activity and Capital Allocation** SL Green generated $23.7 million in net cash from the sale of the residential and retail components of 7 Dey Street for $222.6 million in May, while retaining the 21,000-square-foot office condominium. The company also sold a 49% joint venture interest in the development at 346 Madison Avenue to Japan's Mori Building Co. at a $175 million valuation, receiving $94.9 million in net proceeds. A contract to sell 10 East 53rd Street for $312.2 million is expected to close in the third quarter, with net proceeds of roughly $100 million earmarked for corporate debt repayment. During the quarter, SL Green repurchased $14.1 million of common stock at an average price of $49.67 a share. The company's SLG Opportunistic Debt Fund deployed $94.7 million in the second quarter, bringing total deployment to $590.5 million. SL Green reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $26.5 million, or $0.38 a share, compared with a loss of $11.1 million a year earlier, reflecting higher depreciation and interest expenses tied to its expanded portfolio. The company held interests in 54 buildings totaling 30.6 million square feet as of June 30. The Manhattan office market's recovery has been uneven, with older buildings struggling while newer, amenity-rich properties near transit hubs command premium rents. SL Green's portfolio, concentrated in Midtown and Midtown South, has benefited from this flight to quality. The company's average rent on new Manhattan office leases reached $93.17 per square foot in the second quarter, with replacement leases achieving $98.42 — an 18% mark-to-market increase over prior rents. With 11 Madison Avenue and One Madison Avenue both fully leased to AI and technology tenants including IBM, Pinterest, and Palo Alto Networks, SL Green is positioned to capture further demand from the technology sector's expansion in New York. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Jul 23 2026, 18:51

ECB holds rates steady as bond yields surge 4 bps on hike bets

**The ECB held rates unchanged Thursday, yet bond yields surged across Europe as traders priced in a September hike and rising oil complicated the inflation outlook.** The European Central Bank kept its key rate unchanged Thursday, but a synchronized selloff in sovereign bonds pushed Germany's 2-year yield up 4.3 basis points to 2.885%, reflecting growing bets on a September rate hike. The move extended across the euro area. France's 10-year yield rose 4.8 basis points to 4.017%, Italy's climbed 5.7 basis points to 4.049%, and Spain's added 4.2 basis points to 3.674%. Greece's 10-year yield gained 4.8 basis points to 3.948%, Tradeweb data show. The broad-based nature of the selloff — affecting both core and peripheral debt — suggests the repricing is macro-driven rather than idiosyncratic to any single country. European equities also declined, with Germany's DAX falling 0.66% and France's CAC 40 dropping 0.89%, while London's FTSE 100 held relatively steady at minus 0.08%. The euro weakened 0.32% against the dollar to $1.14. France's overall business climate improved to 97 in July, with its manufacturing index edging up to 101, according to the national statistics office. The ECB's next policy meeting on Sept. 10 now carries heightened significance. Rising oil prices — which add to imported inflation — give the Governing Council cover to resume tightening after the July pause, even as the euro-area economy shows signs of slowing. Traders see a September rate increase as increasingly likely, according to market pricing. The 2-year German yield traded within a 5.2-basis-point range on Thursday, oscillating between 2.854% and 2.906%, before settling at 2.885%. The yield dipped about 2 basis points immediately after the ECB's 2:15 p.m. Frankfurt time announcement before reversing higher, indicating the market viewed the hold as temporary rather than the end of the tightening cycle. The 2-year to 10-year German yield spread narrowed 1.1 basis points to 31.6 basis points, reflecting a steeper selloff at the short end — a pattern typically associated with near-term tightening expectations. The 30-year German yield rose a more modest 1.1 basis points to 3.665%, suggesting the repricing is concentrated in the front end where monetary policy has the most direct impact. The last time the ECB held rates steady before delivering a hike at the subsequent meeting was in September 2023, when it raised the deposit rate by 25 basis points to 4%, according to ECB records. That historical precedent suggests the current bond selloff may have further to run if energy costs continue to climb and inflation data in the coming weeks supports another increase. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.