On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week with a disappointing decline. The benchmark index fell 0.6% to 8,565.2 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise
The Australian share market looks set to rise on Tuesday despite a poor start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 23 points or 0.25% higher. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.65%, the S&P 500 is 0.4% lower, and the Nasdaq has fallen 0.3%.
Oil prices charge higher
It could be a good session for ASX 200 energy shares Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices charged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.35% to US$59.33 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.3% to US$63.20 a barrel. This was driven by supply concerns following an attack on a Black Sea terminal.
Collins Foods half year results
Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) shares will be on watch today when the quick service restaurant operator releases its half year results. A strong result is expected from the KFC operator, with management guiding to “year-on-year FY26 Group underlying NPAT (post AASB 16) growth in the low to mid-teens” on a percentage basis. KFC Australia same store sales are expected to increase 2.1% during the first half.
Hold Imdex shares
Imdex Ltd (ASX: IMD) shares are a fairly valued according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its hold rating on the mining product technology solutions provider’s shares with a trimmed price target of $3.60 (from $3.80). It said: “Our Target Price is lowered to $3.60/sh after applying a higher WACC 8.7% (previously 7.8%). Value accretion from the ALT and MSI acquisitions is dependent on meaningful incremental revenue generation over the three year period post deal completion. For example, achieving 25% of the incremental revenue share earn-out cap (our base case) should deliver an implied acquisition multiple of 7.1x (EV / FY28 EBITDA), less than IMD’s 9.6x (in FY28). Implied upfront valuation multiple is closer to 20.6x FY26 EBITDA.”
Gold price rises
ASX 200 gold shares Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) could have a decent session on Tuesday after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.4% to US$4,271.5 an ounce. Gold hit a six-week high on increased US rate cut bets.
Should you invest $1,000 in Collins Foods Limited right now?
Before you buy Collins Foods Limited shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Collins Foods Limited wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Collins Foods. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Imdex. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
If you are on the lookout for some new portfolio additions in December, then read on!
That’s because analysts have just given their verdict on three popular ASX shares, courtesy of The Bull. Here’s what they are saying about these shares:
The team at Medallion Financial Group is positive on this gaming technology company and has named it as a buy.
It highlights that its share buyback program signals management confidence in value creation. It said:
Aristocrat remains a high quality global gaming leader with strong intellectual property, dominant market share in North American gaming operations and a large base of recurring digital revenue supporting its long term resilience. Its $750 million share buy-back program adds support to earnings and signals management confidence in value creation. The company generated revenue growth of 11 per cent in full year 2025 when compared to the prior corresponding period. Net profit after tax was up 9.4 per cent.
As with almost every broker, Medallion isn’t recommending investors buy Australia’s largest bank. It has named CBA as an ASX share to sell.
Although it acknowledges its quality, it feels that its shares are expensive at 25 times earnings and with a below average dividend yield. It said:
While the CBA remains a solid business over the long term, the share price looks expensive at current levels. Recently trading on a price/earnings ratio of about 25 times and a modest dividend yield of about 3.15 per cent, its valuation sits well above global peers.
Also, the company recently suffered its worst sell-off in four years following the release of first quarter results in fiscal year 2026, which flagged higher operating costs, a weaker net interest margin (NIM) and a lower-than-expected common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 11.8 per cent, which is still above the Australia Prudential Regulation Authority minimum of 10.25 per cent.
Finally, Medallion is a fan of this location technology company. However, it isn’t enough to rate Life360 shares as a buy just yet.
It has named it as a hold but also recommends investors accumulate this quality growth stock while they are down. It said:
Life360 is the leading family safety and location sharing platform across the US, UK and Australia. It operates a capital-light, highly scalable subscription model with growing ad partnerships. Despite recent share price weakness tied to investor concerns about its $US120 million acquisition of Nativo amid a rotation out of technology stocks into defensive companies, the business fundamentals of Life360 remain strong.
Revenue is growing at an impressive pace, subscriber numbers continue to accelerate and management has upgraded full year guidance. We view current share price levels as an attractive opportunity to at least hold or accumulate a quality growth business with a long runway ahead.
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Life360 wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
There’s a certain group of ASX dividend stocks that I’d be willing to buy in any market environment, whether the economy is booming or challenging.
A resilient business can continue growing its operating earnings, and a defensive ASX dividend stock is capable of continuing to deliver passive income to investors.
I’d be very happy to buy Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) shares right now and virtually any time.
Pleasing yield
Most income investors are probably looking for a strong dividend yield, so let’s take a look at how big the passive income could be in FY26.
Rural Funds owns a portfolio of farmland across Australia, which generates an attractive level of rental income. The business is able to use the rental profits to pay distributions to investors every quarter.
The business expects to pay a distribution of 11.73 cents per unit in the 2026 financial year. This translates into a forward distribution yield of approximately 6%, at the time of writing.
While that’s not the biggest yield on the ASX, it’s more than a term deposit, and there’s potential growth of payouts in the future.
Rising operating earnings for the ASX dividend stock
The leases that ASX dividend stocks have signed with tenants have rental growth built in, with those increases either linked to inflation or fixed annual rises.
While that rental growth is not rapid, it provides investors with positive tailwinds for rental earnings to grow.
Rural Funds is also able to put money towards increasing the rental potential of its land, whether that’s through improving the productivity of the land or changing the type of agriculture produced on that land (such as the Maryborough and Riverton farms being used for macadamia plantings).
With a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 13.9 years, the business has rental income locked in for the long term.
It’s expecting to grow its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) â the net rental profit â by another 1.7% in FY26, and I’m expecting that growth rate to increase in the coming years as the ASX dividend stock’s investments are completed. Â
Large NAV discount
I think it’s appealing to buy an asset-focused business like a real estate investment trust (REIT) when it’s trading at a cheaper price compared to its underlying value.
Every six months, Rural Funds tells the market what its adjusted net asset value (NAV) is. It’s adjusted to take into account the market value of the water rights that it owns.
At 30 June 2025, the business reported an adjusted NAV of $3.08. At the time of writing, it’s trading at a discount of 36%, which I think is very appealing and makes today a good time to buy.
Should you invest $1,000 in Rural Funds Group right now?
Before you buy Rural Funds Group shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Rural Funds Group wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
It has been a lucrative period to have been invested in the stock market over the past three years. Both the ASX and the American markets have delivered bumper returns since late 2022. ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track these indexes prove it.
To illustrate, the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ), a simple ASX 200 index fund, has returned 12.97% per annum since 31 October 2022.
The US markets have done far better, though. The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) has returned an average of 21.4% over that same timespan. That’s exceptional, given that this index’s long-term average is about 7.5% per annum.
However, there is one ASX ETF that has put these funds to shame.
It is known as the Global X FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG).
Over the three years to 31 October, this ASX ETF has delivered not a 20% or 30% return per annum. Not even 40%.
Its average rate of return has been an astounding 54.24% per annum. This astronomical rate of return would have been enough to turn $10,000 into roughly $36,700 over that three-year span.
So how has this high-flying ASX ETF done it?
FAANGing to the top
Well, FANG is a fund that only holds ten stocks within it. By contrast, the ASX 200 ETF holds, well 200, and the S&P 500 fund, 500.
Those ten stocks are special, though. As you can probably gather from the name, they include all five members of the old ‘FAANG’ club â Facebook (now Meta Platforms), Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet).
In addition to these five stocks, FANG also holds Broadcom, CrowdStrike, NVIDIA Corp, ServiceNow and Microsoft.
Microsoft and NVIDIA are members of the ‘Magnificent 7’ club that FAANG has morphed into. Meanwhile, Broadcom is a chipmaker and software stock. ServiceNow operates in the cloud-based business software space, and Crowdstrike is a leader in cybersecurity.
As you can imagine, all of these companies have enjoyed a phenomenal few years, thanks to the boom in interest in AI-related companies.
To illustrate, Broadcom stock is up approximately 645% since early December 2022. Some other notable winners include Crowdstrike (up 311%), Meta Platforms (up 425%) and, of course, NVIDIA (up a massive 948.5%).
Given that all ten of these FANG stocks have been unbridled winners, it’s no surprise to see the ETF deliver such breathtaking gains.
So is this ASX ETF a screaming buy?
Well, that’s the trillion-dollar question. There’s no doubt that FANG’s ten holdings are some of the best and most profitable companies in the world, and many will probably continue to be for years to come. However, that doesn’t mean this ETF will continue to grow at 50%-plus every year going forward. A majority of its holdings are now worth more than US$1 trillion, and in many cases, far higher than that. There comes a point when companies simply cannot sustain growth rates due to sheer size.
This ETF is also heavily exposed to the US tech sector. It is highly concentrated and may be punished if the now-positive sentiment turns against tech shares.
It is difficult to judge what kind of future this ASX ETF holds in store for its investors. I would be surprised if it continues to see anything close to its recent blazing performance in the years ahead. But then again, it’s not hard to make the case that it represents a stake in some of the world’s top businesses. Investors should keep in mind that FANG represents a very narrow bet on a narrow range of companies, and judge the risks and potential rewards for themselves.
Should you invest $1,000 in ETFs Fang+ ETF right now?
Before you buy ETFs Fang+ ETF shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and ETFs Fang+ ETF wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Netflix. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, CrowdStrike, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, ServiceNow, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Broadcom and has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, CrowdStrike, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, ServiceNow, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
A recent report from VanEck Australia suggests that after two down years for healthcare stocks, emerging tailwinds could spark a rebound.Â
The report said healthcare stocks have lagged over this period, mostly due to potential US policy effects on the growth rates for biopharma, healthcare plans, and medical technology firms.
The tide is turning
According to VanEck, over the past two years, healthcare stocks underperformed relative to the broader market.
This is despite catalysts such as innovation and progress in weight-loss drugs.
However, the ASX ETF provider said the tide could now be turning.
Recently, there has been some clarity on healthcare policies, increased M&A activity, as well as interest from investors who are rotating back into defensive growth and quality earnings due to the volatile macro environment.
Additionally, recent earnings season results from Q3 in the US shows over 80% of reported healthcare companies have “surprised to the upside”, and price reactions post earnings have also been positive.
Looking ahead, the long-term structural growth drivers, including ageing populations, chronic disease management, med-tech adoption, and digital health, remain present.
Emerging tailwinds
VanEck pointed towards changing policy in the US as one emerging factor set to benefit the sector.
The agreement included exchanging Medicaid cost cuts for tariff relief.
The ETF provider said this has lowered market fears of sweeping “most-favoured-nation” (MFN) mandates that would have pressured pricing across the sector.
Pfizer, Merck, and Johnson & Johnson all experienced price rises after the announcement due to improved sentiment toward the sector.
VanEck believes the sector is now trading at a relative value to the broader market.
With macro uncertainty at the forefront of investors’ minds, many are rotating toward defensive growth, benefiting healthcare broadly and many investors are targeting those companies with quality characteristics and/or wide moats.
How to target global healthcare stocks
Healthcare stocks are relatively underexposed on the ASX compared to sectors like financial (Big four banks) and materials (mining giants).
This means Aussie investors are often looking overseas to tap into healthcare markets.
The team at VanEck believes long-term structural trends supporting the sector could make it an ideal time to gain exposure to international healthcare stocks, including:
The combination of global population growth and ageing demographics.
Increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, which will continue to drive up the demand for healthcare.
Increasing expenditures in emerging economies that need to close the gap to match the levels of spending in developed economies, as their growing and increasingly wealthy populations will demand it.
For investors looking for diversification into global healthcare stocks, there are several ASX ETFs offering focussed exposure to this sector.
Investors may consider:
Vaneck Vectors Global Health Leaders ETF (ASX: HLTH) – Gives investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of the largest international companies from the global healthcare sector.
iShares Global Healthcare ETF (ASX: IXJ) – Made up of more than 100 global equities in the healthcare sector.
BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF – Currency Hedged (ASX: DRUG) – Aims to track the performance of the largest global healthcare companies (excluding Australia).
Another option for investors looking for overweight to the sector, with a broader fund, could consider Vaneck Vectors Morningstar World Ex Australia Wide Moat ETF (ASX: GOAT).
It has a 25.7% allocation to the healthcare sector within a portfolio of attractively priced international ‘wide moat’ companies with sustainable competitive advantages.
Should you invest $1,000 in BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF – Currency Hedged right now?
Before you buy BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF – Currency Hedged shares, consider this:
Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF – Currency Hedged wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…
Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
Citadel founder Ken Griffin was up in his flagship Wellington fund in November.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Citadel, Balyasny, ExodusPoint, and more all made money in November.
Big-name funds battled a choppy equities market, though stocks bounced in the second half of the month.
Many hedge funds outperformed the modest 0.1% gain in November by the S&P 500 index.
Hedge funds' biggest names had a solid November despite an early-month sell-off of hot tech stocks.
Citadel, Balyasny, and ExodusPoint all made money in the month, people close to the managers told Business Insider.
Miami-based Citadel, run by billionaire Ken Griffin, was up 1.4% in its flagship Wellington fund. The fund has made 8.3% for the year. The manager's Tactical Trading fund, which combines the firm's quant and flesh-and-blood stockpickers, is up 16.3% in 2025 after 2.6% gain last month.
The $30 billion Balyasny continued its strong year with a 2.5% gain in November. The manager is now up 15.3% in 2025. ExodusPoint pushed its year-to-date returns to 15.6% with a 1.2% bump in November.
These firms and many other multistrategy managers outperformed the S&P 500 last month; the index gained just 0.1% thanks to an early-month sell-off of tech stocks that was partially reversed by strong earnings from chipmaker Nvidia and solid iPhone sales by Apple.
The index for the year has still made more than 16% in 2025, which is greater than many funds' year-to-date gains.
The firms below declined to comment. More performance figures will be added to the table and the article as they are learned.
Ukrainian drone-maker Wild Hornets said its interceptor took down a Russian drone carrying an air-to-air missile.
Wild Hornets/Screengrab via X
Ukraine used an interceptor drone to take out a Russian Shahed carrying an air-to-air missile.
Wild Hornets, a Ukrainian company that makes the Sting interceptor drone, confirmed the incident.
The missile-armed Shahed appears to be Russia's attempt to counter Ukrainian aircraft.
A Ukrainian defense manufacturer said Monday that its interceptor took down a Russian drone armed with an air-to-air missile, an unusual configuration signaling a new battlefield tactic.
Wild Hornets, a defense-tech firm making drones for the Ukrainian military, said that the Darknode battalion of Kyiv's 412th Nemesis Brigade used its "Sting" interceptor drone to shoot down a Russian Shahed carrying a Soviet-era air-to-air missile.
Alex Roslin, the foreign support coordinator for Wild Hornets, told Business Insider that the recent engagement marks the first time a Sting interceptor has taken down a Shahed-type drone carrying an air-to-air missile.
Russia's Shahed-style strike drones are typically armed with explosive warheads alone and are designed to dive toward a target before detonating on impact; these one-way attack drones haven't been widely spotted carrying any external munitions.
Wild Hornets said in a statement that Russia appears to be using the air-to-air missiles to counter Ukrainian helicopters, one of the tools that Kyiv has relied on to intercept Shahed-type drones.
Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to a request for comment.
Another exclusive: the Darknode battalion of the 412th Nemesis Brigade used an interceptor STING drone to shoot down a Shahed carrying an R-60 air-to-air missile. pic.twitter.com/UseJQNAlpA
Video footage of the engagement, captured from the perspective of the Sting interceptor drone, appears to show a propeller-driven Geran-2 — the Russian variant of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 — carrying the missile.
Wild Hornets identified the equipped weapon as the R-60, a short-range guided missile with a 10-kilometer (6-mile) range developed by the Soviet Union for fighter jets. The missile, which entered service in the early 1970s, has extensive combat experience and has been deployed in various Middle East conflicts.
Sergey Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian military expert, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the incident marks the first time an R-60 missile has been detected on a Shahed, adding that the combination "is designed to destroy helicopters and tactical aviation aircraft that hunt Shaheds."
Beskrestnov shared photos purporting to show the wreckage of a downed Shahed and the missile. Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of the imagery.
Ukraine has increasingly relied on aircraft, including fighter jets and helicopters, to shoot down Russian drones. Adding missiles to the drones may be Moscow's attempt to suppress these air defenses. The add-ons could reduce effectiveness, though, by putting limits on overall payload capacity.
It is not the first time in the war that drones have been armed with missiles. Ukrainian naval drones equipped with surface-to-air missiles have, for instance, shot down Russian aircraft over the Black Sea. The adaptation was made in response to increased Russian combat air patrols.
The Sting interceptor, made by Wild Hornets, is one of many in use by the Ukrainian military.
Anatolii Stepanov/REUTERS
But the missile-armed Shahed marks a new development for Russia as it seeks to gain an advantage over Ukraine in what officials describe as a cat-and-mouse game of defense technology between the two sides.
Lt. Col. Yurii Myronenko, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense for innovation, told Business Insider last month that Russia has already been trying to hit Ukrainian aircraft and helicopters midair with Shaheds.
Myronenko, a former drone unit commander, said Russia is testing new deep-strike weapons, including modified Shaheds. He did not mention air-to-air missiles, though.
Facing a growing Russian drone threat, Ukraine in recent months has turned to interceptor drones like Wild Hornets' Sting for cheap air defense solutions.
The Sting costs roughly $2,500. Wild Hornets said in November that Ukrainian forces can use the interceptor drones to take down more than 100 Shaheds — estimated to cost between $20,000 and $70,000 — in a single night.
On Sunday, the company said Sting interceptors had taken down new Geran-3 drones — Russia's jet-powered Shahed variant — for the first time during an attack the previous night.
Parker Henry is married to Hunter Henry, tight end of the New England Patriots.
FREEBIRD/FREEBIRD
Parker Henry is married to New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry.
She met him while studying nursing and married the same year she graduated.
Today, they have two kids, and one on the way.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Parker Henry. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When my husband, Hunter Henry, signed with the New England Patriots in 2021, I was skeptical about moving to Boston. Yet after we arrived, I was surprised that Massachusetts reminded me of Arkansas, where Hunter and I grew up. The weather is similar, and the people in both places are so loyal.
We bought a house in Massachusetts, near the stadium, and both our children were born here. Because of that, Massachusetts feels so much like home. We have a great community, both within the team and outside it.
We've always returned to Arkansas, where we own another house, in the offseason. Now that my son is in preschool, that's getting harder. We don't want to take him away from the school that he loves. I'm also pregnant, due in March, and we're planning to stay in New England year-round for the first time. In the future, we'll play it by ear each season.
I try not to think about moving for Hunter's job
Where we call home could change if Hunter were traded. That's one of those things you try not to think about, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't on my mind. We've been very, very fortunate to be in New England for five years.
I remind myself that worrying won't change anything. It's the reality of the NFL that you can be uprooted at any time. Ultimately, whether it's Massachusetts, Arkansas, or somewhere else, I know home is where your people are.
Before kids, I worked as an RN while Hunter played
Hunter and I started dating when we were at the University of Arkansas. He was a year ahead of me, and I was still completing my nursing degree when he was drafted to the Chargers (who were first based in San Diego, then Las Vegas).
We had a long-distance relationship before getting married in 2018. That was also the year I graduated and started working as a labor and delivery nurse. Working as a nurse for two and a half years gave me a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
I stopped working when we moved to Massachusetts, and I found out I was expecting our son. Now, my purpose and fulfillment come from raising our soon-to-be three kids. I don't think I'm done with nursing, though; I joke that I'm going to become a school nurse to follow the kids.
Traveling to away games can be difficult, so we watch from home
The kids and I go to all the home games. If Hunter's traveling, things are more complicated. We can't travel or even stay with the team, so I need to figure out our flights and accommodations. The team always flies home after the game, no matter how late it ends, so Hunter gets home before the kids and me if we travel to away games.
Because of that, we usually only go if we have friends or family in the city where he's playing. I'd rather be at home to greet him after the game and spend the next day together.
Instead, my son and I watch every away game. He still naps from 1 to 3 p.m. every day, so sometimes we have to negotiate that he can watch the second half if it's an early game.
Being an NFL wife isn't all glitz and glam
The fascination with NFL wives and girlfriends is funny to me. We're just human beings, trying to wake up and get through the week. The glitz and glam isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when you're handling the mental load of running a home, getting the kids to school, and packing lunches.
Hunter has no idea what's going on at home during football season. I rely on paid help, since we don't have family living near us. It really does take a village.
I also recently got a Skylight calendar, which helps tremendously because Hunter can just glance at it and see if our son has preschool that day, or if we have an event coming up. My son loves the calendar too. Now that he's older, he wants to know everything about Hunter's schedule. He likes seeing where Daddy's traveling, when he'll be home, and what time the games are, and the calendar helps him feel connected, even when Hunter is on the road.
Omnicom recently closed a $9 billion acquisition of IPG, creating the largest ad agency company.
In an interview with Business Insider, Omnicom's leadership team outlined its strategy.
CEO John Wren said Omnicom's new scale will help it strike better commercial terms.
Madison Avenue's center of gravity is shifting.
Omnicom is now officially the world's largest ad agency holding company, thanks to its $9 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, which closed Friday.
The combination brings together creative and media agencies, health marketing specialists, and production studios. They are all set to be underpinned by data from its Acxiom data-management company and Omni, which the company describes as its advanced intelligence platform.
The agency mega-merger is also set to bring about more than $750 million in cost savings, including 4,000 job cuts related to the transaction, the company said Monday.
Omnicom chairman and CEO John Wren told Business Insider in an interview on Monday that the merger would give the company fresh agility and scale.
"We will be in a position, for the foreseeable future, to be able to create the best commercial terms for our clients," Wren said. "Underpinning that is a platforms group powered by generative AI that will be far unmatchable unless you're one of the big six tech companies."
Announced in December, the stock-for-stock transaction was initially valued at about $13 billion, but closed at roughly $9 billion because both Omnicom and IPG's shares fell in the months after.
Wren said Omnicom's stock price is "set to correct very quickly because of all the benefits that we're going to get" from the IPG acquisition.
Business Insider spoke with Wren and other members of the Omnicom leadership team to learn what the deal reveals about the health of the advertising business, an industry facing multiple competitive threats and the rise of new technologies, such as AI. They also shared why Omnicom clients and staff should feel exhilarated by the close of the deal, and how the ad group's AI strategy differs from its competitors.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Business Insider: How would you characterize the current state of Madison Avenue? Some of the observers and analysts looking at this merger have said it doesn't reflect an industry in a position of strength.
John Wren: In terms of where this is all headed, and why I think there is tremendous growth, is that with the improvements that are coming on board with technology, with the unique database that we're going to be able to provide our employees for insights and knowledge, we're going to get closer and closer to that holy grail of wanting to be paid based upon agreed KPIs and performance.
We get paid well when you, the client, do well, and we suffer when you suffer.
That's where it's moving toward.
Business Insider: A lot of the focus today has been on the job cuts related to the transaction. There have already been thousands of job cuts across IPG and Omnicom since the deal was first announced. How should current Omnicom employees feel about their job security going into 2026?
Wren: IPG was fairly aggressive throughout the first three quarters of 2025. Quite a bit of that was right-sizing them for some of the business casualties they had in the past.
I've never taken cuts lightly at all, because they affect not only the individual but the individual's family. This is an acquisition, but our people approach it from a talent point of view, as if it were a merger of equals, where, if there were two people competing for one position, the best person won — not because they were Omnicom, they win by default.
We held very true to something I said very early on, that people who are generating revenue and creating ideas and growth for clients, their jobs were to be safe. In principle, I think we accomplished that. We did it pretty fairly between the two groups.
We've been planning for this and rather anxious about it, because we don't want to leave employees with the impression that, oh, this is just going to be a rolling cut and uncertainties.
We're trying to get as much of it done now —between today and December 15 — as is humanly possible and is correct. It's principally over, so people can be secure, but it's never quite finished because there's ongoing stuff that doesn't have anything to do with the client, doesn't have anything to do with the product, this has to do with us becoming faster and more efficient.
Troy Ruhanen, Omnicom Advertising CEO: This move, ultimately, has energized our staff and has energized our clients as they are able to see the full potential of what we can be as an organization.
Our staff feel they're capable of being much more of a business partner to our clients, and our clients feel like they can trust us to complete the brand experience.
We've had a really good reaction already from our clients around this news and the capabilities we are bringing together and the places where we are going to demonstrate clear leadership.
Business Insider: It seems the ad industry has a "frenemy" relationship with AI. You've got no choice but to embrace it. CEOs are asking CMOs to figure out their AI strategies, and you can act as the consultant there. But AI also threatens to automate away many of the services that you once charged those CMOs for. How do you strike the right balance between those things, and what makes Omnicom AI's strategy different from WPP and Publicis?
John Wren: Some of that we're not going to disclose to you.
This technology probably has an immediate and serious impact on how we can become more efficient. Our current model, which has been morphing, is based on time and materials. As you're eliminating manual types of functions or revitalizing them in some way, you're going to lose some of that labor, but you're going to become more expert.
We're going to increasingly get more and more confident about our abilities to be paid for performance. In order to get there, the client's KPIs have to be clearly articulated and explained, and we have to be certain that we can add value to that activity, which we believe we will.
But it's going to be a journey. It's not a light switch.
Business Insider: What separates you from an Accenture in this area?
John Wren: Our data is going to be better. Our insights as a result of that are going to be better. Our geography.
How do you add value to that? It's our creative IP and what you do with that to enrich your at-the-moment data that differentiates you, and that's where we are planning to be.
We're servicing two-thirds of the leading companies in the world. I hope to expand that relationship with more. We provide services, but we also do a hell of a lot of observation in terms of who's moving, at what pace.
We are constantly disrupting and trying to cannibalize ourselves so we are fit for purpose.
Paolo Yuvienco, Omnicom chief technology officer: There are several factors that really differentiate us.
One is around the first-mover partnerships we established early on, as early as 2022, as it relates to generative AI. We are working side-by-side with the leading researchers within some of the largest technology companies in the world, looking at the advancements that they're making. They're asking us, what are the appropriate use cases for these research projects that they have within their labs. So, because we're adopting the technology and we're operationalizing that technology at great speed, we have the advantage over many of our competitors.
Our data, bar none, is the most elite dataset in the industry. On the buy side, the connected graph around identity for that dataset is the most robust and most comprehensively supported graph in the industry. Then our platform strategy, where computation really fuels creativity, is allowing us to create this neural network of commerce, of media, of creativity, using agentic AI to turn data into desire and desire into growth.
We can do it faster than any one of the competitors out there, whether they are direct competitors or adjacent competitors, like the management consultancies.
Energy could be one of the challenging areas for the world to contend with in the coming decade, as coal power generation reduces, but energy demand increases because of data centres and AI.
Nuclear energy could be the answer for a number of countries, particularly places like the US, as well as certain European and Asian countries.
Nexgen owns a project in Canada where it’s developing the Arrow deposit, which is expected to become one of the world’s largest and lowest-costing uranium projects.
In the coming years, I think there’s a fair chance uranium prices will increase as energy demand rises. Even at today’s prices, the ASX share could make significant cash flow once the project is operational and justify a higher Nexgen share price.
I believe that the best businesses are likely to deliver the strongest returns over the long term because of their ability to compound earnings, leading to compounding shareholder returns.
There are a variety of ways to judge whether a business is high quality or not. The QUAL ETF aims to invest in 300 of the best companies in the world.
The fund looks for three factors to decide if a business has world-leading quality: a high return on equity (ROE), stable (and growing) earnings, and low debt levels.
Thanks to that combination of elements, the QUAL ETF has returned an average of 16.5% per year over the last five years. While past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, a similar sort of return over the next five years could double an investor’s money.
With the holdings from a variety of countries and sectors, I think it ticks the diversification box effectively.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
This ASX share is one of the leading options for a combination of dividends and capital growth, in my opinion.
It owns a portfolio of assets, with both listed and unlisted businesses, including telecommunications, resources, swimming schools, agriculture, credit, industrial property, building products, and plenty of other areas.
The company’s existing portfolio can achieve growth over time as those businesses deliver on their plans. Soul Patts regularly makes additional investments with its portfolio, adding further growth for the company.
Its portfolio of assets generates an impressive level of cash flow each year, which enables the company to reward investors with a growing dividend, using a majority of the funds, and reinvest the remainder in additional opportunities.
A combination of a growing portfolio and rising dividends (from the cash flow) is a winning combination and could help our wealth building and annual cash flow. That’s exactly how I’m using my Soul Patts holding.
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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in VanEck Msci International Quality ETF and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
