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On’s Second CEO Change in a Year Could Indicate Bigger Issues at the Company
Shares for On Holding fell more than 11 percent on Wednesday.
Shares of On Holding fell more than 11 percent by the end of trading on Wednesday after the Swiss company revealed its second top leadership change in a year.
In a surprise announcement, On revealed that Martin Hoffmann will step down as chief executive officer in May as part of a “planned hiatus” to pursue philanthropic interests. In turn, On cofounders David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti now will serve as co-CEOs and Scott Maguire will be promoted to president and chief operating officer.
On executives noted that the changes will not impact its 2026 guidance, which calls for net sales to grow by at least 23 percent on a constant currency basis for the full year. That implies reported net sales of at least 3.44 billion Swiss francs. The company also noted earlier this month in its most recent earnings report that it anticipates “continued elevated profitability” in 2026, with a full-year gross profit margin of at least 63 percent and an adjusted EBITDA margin between 18.5 percent and 19 percent.
But market watchers are skeptical of both the CEO change and other shifting trends, including a slowdown in the American business, the lack of a clear wholesale strategy and slipping DTC sales.
Jefferies’ equity analyst Randal Konik pointed to the departure of co-CEO Marc Maurer just one year ago as a bad sign. “The departure of two CEOs in a year is notable for a company that considers itself in the first inning of growth,” Konik wrote in a research note on Wednesday. “We see this as a reaction to [business] complexity rising and competitive pressure building. [The total addressable market] of On is not as big as the market thinks, so growth will slow, margins will compress, and the stock price will decline substantially.”
Konik also called out On’s slowdown in its Americas business and its direct-to-consumer channel as pause for concern.
“DTC slowdown may already be happening,” he wrote. “Moreover, paid search is rising, which may indicate the company is trying to drive new customer growth. Americas business is slowing too. USA in particular only up 13 percent in ’25, slowing roughly 1,300 basis points from last year’s trend. If USA goes negative in ’27, it doesn’t matter what growth occurs in China.”
As for William Trading analyst Sam Poser, the executive changes have led his firm to reduce its price target from $44 a share to $41 a share. The analyst suggested that On needs more work on its wholesale channel to succeed in the future.
“We remain concerned that On does not have the necessary ground game in place to understand and execute against the nuanced differences between and within the store base of its wholesale accounts,” Poser wrote in a research note. “As a result, many of On’s U.S. wholesale accounts are looking for alternatives as On’s segmentation and allocation strategies are based on what On hopes for, but not how the consumers are shopping.”
Poser added that he expects, and is beginning to see, deceleration of sell-through rates at athletic specialty retailers like Foot Locker and JD Sports, which will likely become greater, and more evident as Nike regains momentum at those retailers.
Konik agreed with this take as well, adding in his note that Nike’s big marketing and research and development budgets will make it harder for On to sustain its previous easy share gains in the years ahead.
“We expect On’s growth will moderate through ’26 and beyond, as the company faces tougher comparisons, rising competition and DTC and apparel benefits plateau,” Konik said. “Wholesale door expansion is slowing and On appears increasingly dependent on paid search to drive DTC traffic. Bottom line, we see parallels with brands such as K-Swiss or Puma — brands that, historically, have had a niche, then a star moment, then fade.”
For Jonathan Komp, senior research analyst at Baird Equity Research, he’s a bit more optimistic of On’s leadership changes — adding in a note that Maguire taking a larger role at the company is a “key positive” for On.
“In our interactions, we have been impressed by Maguire’s executive leadership background and expertise as a product-led operator, which we believe has brought an important fresh perspective to On’s executive leadership team,” Komp wrote.
The analyst added that Allemann and Coppetti taking on a larger role in the company is also a good thing.
“Both David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti were among On’s original cofounders and have been actively involved as executive co-chairmen — with Allemann especially focused on marketing [and] Coppetti on global sales historically — including in publicly facing roles with investors,” Komp added. “Accordingly, we view both as exceptionally positioned to lead On’s next chapter as co-CEOs.”
Nvidia-Backed Startup Seeking to Counter Chinese AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation
Reflection is one of several startups working alongside Nvidia to build powerful, freely available ‘open-source’ AI models
Reflection, a startup backed by chip giant Nvidia NVDA 1.99%increase; green up pointing triangle that is leading an effort to create freely available U.S. AI systems, is in talks to raise $2.5 billion at a valuation of $25 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company is one of a handful of Nvidia-linked startups that are seeking to build a network of “open source” AI models, which businesses, labs and universities can use and repurpose according to their needs.
The deal would add firepower to Reflection, which is central to Nvidia’s efforts to create an open-source ecosystem that can run on its chips and counter the growing and increasingly sophisticated offerings in China. A spokesperson for Reflection declined to comment.
JPMorgan Chase is in talks to participate in the round through its newly formed Security and Resiliency Initiative, which was created in December to back U.S. companies in industries critical to the economy and national security, the people said. The bank said at the time that it planned to invest up to $10 billion into venture-backed startups through the initiative.
Disruptive, an earlier investor in Reflection, is also expected to invest.
Reflection has developed close ties with Nvidia, which invested about $800 million in a previous funding round that valued the young startup, which has yet to generate meaningful revenue, at $8 billion, the Journal has reported.
The $25 billion valuation for Reflection represents its value before the $2.5 billion investment, the people said.
The deal is part of a flurry of investments in so-called neolabs, which are giving priority to long-term research and building new AI models over short-term profits.
Nvidia has been introducing Reflection to potential customers. That includes foreign governments that plan to develop homegrown AI infrastructure that gives them power over how the technology is used.
Reflection recently committed several billion dollars to build models customized for the Korean language in a deal with South Korean conglomerate Shinsegae Group. Thousands of Nvidia chips will power the data center supporting the project. Reflection plans to make more deals like this one, with the goal of becoming the open model used by sovereign clouds in U.S. allies around the world, the people familiar with the matter said. AI boosters have taken to calling such systems “sovereign AI.”
Investors have described Reflection as the “DeepSeek of the West”—an alternative to the open-source models offered by Chinese companies. U.S. AI labs haven’t given priority to open-source models, creating concerns that other countries will end up using Chinese technology instead.
“Open models are Trojan horses for the infrastructure they bring with them,” Reflection Chief Executive Misha Laskin said in an interview earlier this month.
Laskin, a Russian-Israeli researcher who previously worked for Google’s DeepMind, started the company in 2024. It has raised more than $2 billion to date, not including the latest financing, from investors including 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, as well as Lightspeed Venture Partners, CRV and Sequoia Capital.
Reflection is also part of a new consortium of startups, called the Nemotron Coalition, that Nvidia has assembled to develop open AI models. Other members include AI startups Cursor and Thinking Machines Lab.
The Financial Times earlier reported some details of the investment.
Bidders circle as EDF’s renewable assets in the US go on sale
KKR, Clearway Energy and LS Power among groups interested in acquiring French group’s American clean energy business
KKR, Clearway Energy Group and LS Power are circling EDF’s North American renewable energy business as the state-owned French power group sells assets to cut debt and ready a rollout of new nuclear plants.
The private equity firm, clean power developer and independent energy producer are among up to five suitors after a first round of nonbinding bids for the assets worth roughly €4bn, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sale of EDF Power Solutions is the most advanced part of a drive by the French group to raise funds and sell off assets under chief executive Bernard Fontana, who was appointed in May last year to steer the sprawling nuclear operator and energy distributor through an ambitious phase of new reactor constructions in Europe.
KKR has been a big investor in renewable energy in recent years, taking stakes in portfolios of solar farms or backing offshore wind projects from South Korea to the UK.
Clearway, jointly owned by France’s TotalEnergies and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, has a portfolio of clean energy and gas assets across the US, while LS Power is focused on electricity generation, transmission and infrastructure.
The sale of the EDF division, which has roughly 26 gigawatts of developed projects in wind, solar and energy storage across the US, Canada and Mexico, comes amid a race to secure power sources in the US to fuel data centres.
Fontana has outlined €1bn a year in cost savings to 2030 and is considering further disposals to cut the group’s debt, which stood at €51.5bn debt at the end 2025.
That was €2.8bn lower than a year earlier but EDF’s net debt ratio was almost three times operating profits last year, compared with 1.5 times a year earlier, after a fall in earnings.
EDF has estimated it needs to spend €25bn a year on the maintenance of its existing nuclear reactors — its French fleet of 57 is Europe’s largest — and preparing the way for at least six new ones in France.
Those will cost about €73bn, in 2020 prices, and will be largely financed by a state loan. But EDF still needs to hire thousands of people and stump up preparatory costs.
Fontana has also confirmed plans to try to open up the capital of EDF’s Italian business Edison, through a listing or by bringing in an investor.
A plan to sell Dalkia, an EDF unit focused on energy efficiency services and alternative sources of power such as biomass, is on the backburner, according to several people familiar with the French group’s plans.
The division could be worth €3bn-€4bn but its sale has been complicated because the French government is not keen for EDF to start selling off assets at home ahead of a presidential election in 2027, one of the people added.
EDF, LS Power, KKR and Clearway all declined to comment.
Ferrari flies personalised supercars to super-rich Middle East buyers
Premium manufacturers keep delivering to lucrative customers despite sea freight disruption
Premium carmakers are delivering hyper-personalised supercars by air to their top Middle Eastern customers as the war in Iran threatens demand in one of their most lucrative markets.
Ferrari last week halted deliveries of most vehicles to the Gulf as car carriers remained unable to enter the region due to restrictions imposed by Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the Italian manufacturer said it was making a “few deliveries via airplane”. Ferrari has also told investors that its vehicles could be shipped to clients outside the region if requested.
Even before the US and Israeli first struck Iran, some super-wealthy customers paid for air freighting to take delivery of their limited-edition, bespoke luxury models more quickly. Air freight had been about three times more expensive than shipping.
Logistics and car industry executives said the price hikes caused by the conflict meant delivering a luxury vehicle by air could now cost four to five times more than by sea — a difference eager buyers were still willing to pay.
The average cost to fly a kilogramme of cargo from Europe to the Middle East has increased by two-thirds since the start of the conflict to $2.96, according to Freightos, a logistics information service. The cost of flying a luxury vehicle would be even higher.
“It just depends on whether the manufacturers are cutting into their own margin because of their relationship with the client, or whether the client has offered to move it on their own dime,” said Ian Arroyo, chief strategy officer at Freightos.
Bentley said it was using existing inventory in the region to fulfil orders placed before the conflict began and was not delivering by air.
BMW-owned Rolls-Royce said it was doing “everything possible” to meet customer demand but declined to provide details.
“It’s a very important region for us,” Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, adding that he was in daily contact with his Middle Eastern customers. “Many of our clients who have vehicles expected would like them to be delivered and we’re working as best we can with the logistics to facilitate that delivery.”
Logistics companies said small numbers of vehicles could also be transported using shipping containers rather than car carriers, although that method would also be costly and time consuming.
The US and China are bigger markets than the Middle East in terms of vehicle volume, but the region is crucial for luxury carmakers because its high-net-worth individuals are willing to spend large amounts to make their vehicles highly personalised. Personalisation accounts for about a fifth of Ferrari’s automotive revenue.
Earlier this month, Volkswagen also warned that the war in the Middle East would hurt sales of its luxury vehicles, saying the region was “significant” for its premium brands that include Porsche, Lamborghini and Audi.
While most manufacturers said existing orders had not been cancelled, some industry executives said new orders were not being placed. One European carmaker said it was suspending plans to open new dealerships in Saudi Arabia, while customer visits to its showroom in Abu Dubai had dropped.
“It’s gone very, very quiet,” said the chief executive of the European manufacturer. If the conflict was prolonged, he said the company may need to reallocate some of the vehicles earmarked for the Middle East to countries such as Japan.
“We are selling the most expensive version of the most expensive cars in the Middle East,” he added. “It’s hard to get the same return to the business by placing vehicles that would have been sold in the Middle East elsewhere.”
Bentley boss Frank-Steffen Walliser also said the Middle East represented “the best market in the world” in terms of profit contribution. “We are very concerned about the situation. For sure, people in the Middle East have other thoughts than looking for a new Bentley at the moment.”
The disruption comes at a particularly challenging period for the sector, with higher tariffs in the US and a sharp sales slowdown in China. Many luxury brands had hoped that growth in the Middle East would offset some of the declines in their key markets, if not entirely.
“There is just nowhere to go,” said Andy Palmer, the former CEO of Aston Martin. “I’ve not seen for an awfully long time . . . where every market is dire.”
After Hours Summary: NAVN +22% higher on earnings; MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1% lower on earnings; NERV +9.7% on new data; GO +4.7% on CEO insider buy
After Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: NAVN +22%, PGEN +19.4%, KRMN +1%
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NERV +9.7% (presents data from its safety trial evaluating roluperidone), GO +4.7% (CEO bought 112,808 shares worth ~$717K), HNRG +4.6% (secures record capacity pricing in 3-yr agreement), WKHS +2.5% (announces availability of new W56 Step Van model), NEXT +2.2% (Director bought 71,500 worth ~$506K), ENS +1.5% (strategic manufacturing restructuring), FLY +1.3% (supported LMT in two space exercises), BTG +1.2% (results from exploration program at Back River), DRVN +0.7% (activist hedge fund pushes co to explore sale or breakup, according to WSJ), EBS +0.5% (secures $60+ mln in new contract award with US govt), RGTI +0.1% (to invest up to $100 mln in the UK to accelerate quantum computing development)
After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1%, DERM -7.8%, EPAC -5.9%, CELC -2.5%, JBS -0.6%
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: CBUS -20.9% (stock offering), STM -0.7% (stock offering by selling shareholder), TTD -0.1% (names Reddit CFO to its board of directors), CRWD -0.1% (CRWD and IBM expand strategic collaboration to accelerate agentic SOC transformation), IBM -0.1% (CRWD and IBM expand strategic collaboration to accelerate agentic SOC transformation)
Riding the GLP-1 boom, VITL lands $7.5M to overhaul cash-pay clinic prescribing
The number of med-spas, weight loss clinics, and concierge practices where patients pay a membership fee for direct, often same-day access to physicians, has exploded in recent years. But while patients pay for these services out-of-pocket, providers still often rely on software built for traditional, insurance-based care.
VITL, an 18-month-old startup, claims to be solving one of the sector’s biggest tech bottlenecks by building an e-prescribing platform — a digital tool for sending and managing prescriptions — tailored for cash-pay medical businesses.
On Wednesday, VITL announced a $7.5 million Series A funding round led by SignalFire.
Founder and CEO Charlie Jordan built the Nashville-based company after realizing just how much time medical providers spend managing prescriptions for treatments not covered by insurance.
Many providers still rely on faxes or phone calls to send prescriptions to compounding pharmacies, which create custom medications to order, often without knowing the final cost to the patient or how long the order will take to fill. VITL’s platform fixes this by connecting clinics to a nationwide network of compounding pharmacies, offering real-time price comparisons and Amazon-style order tracking.
“We shorten the prescription time from several minutes down to a few seconds,” Jordan told TechCrunch.
For clinics that put in dozens of orders each day, that time savings adds up.
VITL estimates that its technology saves clients up to two full workdays per month by automating an otherwise cumbersome and opaque process.
Cash-pay providers are clearly seeing the value in VITL’s platform. A little over a year after its launch, the company reports onboarding more than 630 clinics and generating eight figures in annualized recurring revenue (ARR), meaning the company is on pace to bring in at least $10 million per year.
That said, 630 customers represents just a fraction of a market that includes tens of thousands of clinics across the U.S. As interest in GLP-1s –the class of drugs that includes Ozempic and Wegovy — peptides, and aesthetic procedures like Botox grows more mainstream, the number of cash-pay healthcare businesses is only set to expand.
VITL never pitched SignalFire, but the startup’s rapid growth caught its attention. That interest translated into a new, $7.5 million Series A led by the venture firm, which is known for using data and AI to identify breakout companies.
VITL competes partly with Surescripts, the industry’s e-prescribing pioneer, and with boutique clinic platforms like Jane Software, which bundle prescription features into their broader electronic health record (EHR) software. What sets VITL apart from these competitors, it says, is its singular focus on the workflow requirements of the cash-pay medical sector.