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Ubisoft Crashes Most On Record After Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Maker Unveils Reorganization, Cancels Games Ubisoft Entertainment SA shares in Paris crashed the most on record after the maker of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (more commonly known for Assassin's Creed) announced widespread restructuring, studio closures, project cancellations, and sharply lower guidance. Shares plunged as much as 36% in the intraday session, currently down 33%, the steepest drop on record. Shares are down to around 2011 lows. Will the 2002 lows be next? The French gaming company said it expects a 1 billion euro EBIT loss in FY 2025-26, driven by a one-off 650 million euro writedown tied to the restructuring. It will close studios in Stockholm and Halifax, cut about 100 million euros in fixed costs by March (a year ahead of plan), and target an additional 200 million in cuts over the next few years. Six games were canceled and seven delayed, including the long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, prompting some Wall Street analysts to warn of a broken game development pipeline. Key summary of Ubisoft's year forecast (courtsey of Bloomberg): Sees net bookings about EU1.5 billion, estimate EU1.78 billion (Bloomberg Consensus) Sees negative free cash flow EU400 million to EU500 million Sees non-IFRS Ebit loss about EU1 billion In November, Ubisoft said "it expects stable net bookings year-on-year, approximately break-even non-IFRS operating income and negative free cash flow" Third quarter forecast: Sees net bookings about EU330 million, saw about EU305 million Ubisoft's new structure will comprise five "creative houses," business units each handling a game genre with "faster, decentralized decision-making," the company explained. In April, these units will be supported by a network of studios providing development resources - and will all share core resources. "The portfolio refocus will have a significant impact on the Group's short-term financial trajectory, particularly in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, but this reset will strengthen the Group and enable it to renew with sustainable growth and robust cash generation," Yves Guillemot, Founder and CEO of Ubisoft, wrote in a statement. Here's commentary from Wall Street analysts (courtsey of Bloomberg): Bernstein (market perform) Management refrained from outlining any FY27 indications, "but we felt that a return to positive FCF may well be a three-year journey as Ubisoft strives to right-size its cost base," analyst Aleksander Peterc writes This could turn out to be a survival test, given about €1b of debt is due in 2027 and 2028 TD Cowen (hold) "We are skeptical that the reorg will fix long-standing issues with inconsistent game development," analyst Doug Creutz writes It's not clear why the new model after the restructuring will achieve superior results compared with the old one, which produced aggregate negative Ebit over seven years CIC (downgrades to sell from neutral, PT lowered to €4 from €7.5) The update points to a worsening operational situation, with the prospect of significant cash burn in FY26 and probably FY27, according to analyst Eric Ravary The reorganization seems to be paving way for IP and studio disposals Most of the firm value is tied in its JV with Tencent Kepler Cheuvreux (reduce, PT cut to €5 from €7) Broker's previous cautious view was based on operational challenges and added complexity from the Tencent transaction, while assuming balance-sheet risk remained largely under control These latest developments should bring balance-sheet risk back to the forefront of the investment thesis The key question is if Ubisoft shares find a base at the 2011 lows or ultimately retrace toward the 2002 trough. With restructuring now underway, focus shifts to whether the company can stabilize operations and rebuild after crashing and burning. This is a stock to watch over the next 12 to 24 months. Tyler Durden Thu, 01/22/2026 - 07:45

Trump Unveils His Board Of Peace In Davos: A Replacement To The UN Or A US-Led Coalition Of The Willing? On the second and final day of his visit on Jan. 22, U.S. President Donald Trump released the Board of Peace charter, which is part of the peace process between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza. The White House on Jan. 16 named several members of the Trump administration, as well as international leaders, to positions within the Board of Peace, which aims to provide strategic insight, mobilize international resources, and ensure accountability during Gaza’s transition and reconstruction. Trump will chair the board, which will be tasked with overseeing the next phase in Gaza. Dozens of countries have been invited to join. As Emel Akan reports for The Epoch Times, members will be tasked with managing the Gaza Strip’s “governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization,” according to the White House. During a Jan. 20 White House press conference, Trump said the Board of Peace might end up replacing the United Nations. “I wish the United Nations could do more. I wish we didn’t need a Board of Peace,” Trump told reporters. “The U.N. just hasn’t been very helpful. I’m a big fan of the U.N. potential, but it has never lived up to its potential.” Despite criticizing the U.N., Trump didn’t call for the dissolution of the international body. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair are among those tapped to serve on an executive board for the Board of Peace. Others on the executive board are private equity executive Marc Rowan, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and U.S. deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel. The Board of Peace will include a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, led by Palestinian Authority official Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath. President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Nikolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat and former U.N. envoy to the Middle East, has also been named to serve as the high representative for Gaza. This role entails acting as a link between the Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. As part of the peace process, Hamas has agreed to disarm. During his remarks to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said failure to comply would result in severe consequences, saying Hamas will “be blown away.” “We have 59 countries that are part of that whole peace deal,” Trump said during his speech. “And they want to come in and take out Hamas. They want to come in. They want to do whatever they can. There’s a problem with Hezbollah in Lebanon. And we'll see what happens there.” Additionally, as Andrew Korybko details below, Putin might accept Trump’s invitation to participate in order to avoid offending him and not lose a seat at the table where members provide input on US policy towards settling various conflicts. Kremlin spokesmen Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the US invited Putin to join the Board of Peace, which refers to the UNSC-endorsed Trump-chaired group for implementing his Gaza peace plan. Interestingly, Gaza isn’t mentioned anywhere in its charter, thus lending credence to some observers’ assessments that Trump envisages it de facto replacing the UN upon broadening its scope with time. That same charter also grants enormous power to the group’s Chairman, the first of which will be Trump. He’s the only one who can invite countries to join, terminate their membership, select the Executive Board, approve decisions (without which they won’t enter into force), veto decisions at any time even after they’re already being implemented, and has full power over subsidiary entities, et al. Just as…

Cocoa Prices Set For Worst Monthly Drop On Record As Demand Craters Cocoa futures in New York tumbled to two-year lows as fresh grinding data confirmed that consumers are balking at high chocolate prices. Contracts are now down more than 28.5% on the month, and if the decline holds through the end of next week, January would register the largest monthly percentage drop on record, with Bloomberg data going back to 1970. The great cocoa panic of 2023-24, which sent prices from $2,190 a ton to as high as $13,000 a ton by December 2024, has now retraced nearly the entire bull move to the 76.4% Fibonacci level. This latest downward pressure comes as new grinding data in Europe, cited by Bloomberg, shows clear demand deterioration: Demand is deteriorating: European cocoa grindings fell to the lowest quarterly level since 2013, Asia also declined, while North America was roughly flat. Reduced grindings have hit processors hard: Barry Callebaut AG reported a 22% drop in cocoa division volumes and nearly 10% lower overall sales volumes. Goldman analyst Natasha de la Grense provided clients with more color on Barry Callebaut's earnings, which showed negative market demand for chocolate: Barry Callebaut – Q1 volumes in line (-9.9%) with a better outcome in Gourmet (-3.6% vs -5.5%) and Food Manufacturers (-7.4% vs -8.0%) offset by worse volumes in Cocoa Products (-22% vs -16.5%). The miss at the latter was impacted by negative market demand notably in AMEA and the prioritisation of volume towards higher return segments. Pricing was +19% YoY (vs +40% last quarter) so sequentially improving and now passed its peak. They say that global chocolate volumes were -6.8%. No change to FY26 outlook but they note lower bean prices are encouraging for chocolate market stabilisation. With this release, a new CEO has been announced which is a bit of a surprise (and Mr Feld is leaving almost immediately). However, the newly appointed Mr Schumacher is former CEO of Unilever and well-liked by investors. On the call, the Chairman suggested there will be no major change in strategy or need for reinvestment under new management. Note that BC also said it is committed to its integrated business model which should pour cold water on speculation around a split. Barry Callebaut CFO Peter Vanneste told investors on an earnings call, "We believe consumers will adapt and adjust to these new price levels and ultimately continue to buy chocolate given the high engagement of the category." We told readers in December that sliding cocoa prices would produce "Tailwinds" for the badly beaten-down Hershey stock ... Read the note here. Tyler Durden Thu, 01/22/2026 - 05:45

UK Data Center Planning Hits Record High Amid Scramble For AI Infrastructure Via City AM, Data centre planning applications in England and Wales jumped 63% in 2025, driven largely by AI-related demand and investor enthusiasm. Developers are increasingly targeting unconventional sites, from abandoned hotels to former coal mines and landfills, to secure planning approval. Power availability and grid constraints are likely to limit how many approved projects are ultimately built, encouraging “bring your own power” models. Data centre planning applications hit an all-time high in the UK in 2025, City AM can reveal, as investors rushed to gain a foothold in the burgeoning AI market. More than 60 separate planning applications for the construction of new data centres were filed in England and Wales over the course of the year, according to a City AM analysis of more than 300 local authority planning databases, representing an increase of 63 per cent compared to 2024. The analysis excluded extensions to existing data centre sites, revisions to past applications and applications for other developments which included a data centre as part of the plans, meaning the true figure for the number of data centres seeking planning approval is likely to be significantly higher. The surge in applications lays bare the scale of the demand for compute by the nascent AI industry, with large language models requiring more and more power to operate, and property businesses racing to re-invent themselves as data centre developers to cash in on investor appetite. Dame Dawn Childs, chief executive of Pure Data Centres, told City AM: “With this AI bubble that everyone’s talking about…because of the increased valuations for powered land, everyone’s trying to get a piece of the pie, and that creates a bunch of fizziness. “We’re seeing lots of people who are sending out on a daily basis: ‘we’ve got this significant plot of land with all of these megawatts of power in the middle of nowhere, it’ll be an AI gigafactory, buy it for a gazillion pounds’ – they’re absolutely trying to get increased valuations for scrappy industrial land.” The lion’s share of the demand came from AI applications by Magnificent 7 firms, Childs said, but added that even without AI, there would likely have been a significant increase in applications due to increased cloud computing adoption across the British economy. The analysis found that around half of the planning applications were situated in London and the South East, regions known as a European hotspot for data centres, though there were also signs of a growing number of data centres being constructed across different parts of the UK. Seven different applications were submitted in Wales during the year, along with another seven in the East Midlands, four in the North West and four in Yorkshire. The analysis also found property firms becoming more and more creative over the sites chosen to redevelop into data centres in a scramble to gain planning approval. In Watford, developers picked the site of an abandoned Mercure hotel to build a data centre, while in Hackney, the old Truman brewery has been earmarked for conversion. In Nottinghamshire, a shuttered coal mine could be turned into a data centre, while in Chesterfield, a former landfill site could find a new lease of life churning out AI content. These more ambitious developments were being led by technological advances by data centre hyperscalers, Childs said. “Previously they needed their cloud regions to be within a certain geography, driven by the cost of power, the availability of power and the price of land,” Childs said. “They’ve extended that margin now and for some of them they’ve actually doubled the circumference within which they’d be happy to have a child data centre site linked back to their central hub in a cloud region.” The surge in data centre planning applications is also thought to have been propelled by the launch of the government’s AI Opportunities…