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Sunday, November 1, 2026

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@StableBread

Fajasy on X

On December 4, TOYO Co., Ltd’s $TOYO Ethiopian cells start paying a 15% U.S. tariff, unless Commerce approves its request for relief. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the U.S. president restrict imports that threaten national security. On August 6, 2026, a proclamation added a 15% tariff, from December 4, on the ingots, wafers, cells, and modules made from polysilicon, for Ethiopia and most other countries, plus minimum import prices of $0.22 per watt (/W) for cells and $0.38/W for modules. The proclamation also created an onshoring program, run by Commerce, that grants relief to companies building U.S. polysilicon, wafer, or cell plants, as long as construction under an approved plan begins by January 20, 2029. Section 232 helps $TOYO’s Texas panels but hurts its Ethiopian cells: 1) Texas modules: Imported panels will face the $0.38/W minimum import price from December 4, above the $0.33/W average in Q2 2026 for U.S. utility-scale modules, per the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. 2) Ethiopian cells: $TOYO’s cells are imports too, so from December 4, 2026, they pay the 15% tariff and must clear the $0.22/W minimum price. Rhone Resch, $TOYO’s Chief Strategy Officer, said at its October 6 Analyst Day that using Ethiopian cells means $TOYO’s Texas panels are “not a purely U.S. product,” and that $TOYO has presented Commerce a term sheet for onshoring relief tied to its planned Texas cell plant, though he said many such agreements probably won’t come until after December 4. Notably, Jeffrey Kessler, Commerce’s Under Secretary for Industry and Security, praised $TOYO at its October 6 ribbon-cutting in Texas for “committing to use exclusively US polysilicon,” and his department approves onshoring plans. Still, 30% of the polysilicon in $TOYO’s Ethiopian cells comes from Malaysia. CEO Takahiko Onozuka said on the Q2 call that $TOYO anticipates its Ethiopian cells “will be eligible for the relief under the framework now taking shape.” But he also said in the August 19 release that $TOYO expects an impact on its H2 2026 results, “though the magnitude is not yet certain.” So Section 232 should lift prices for $TOYO’s Texas panels, but it taxes the Ethiopian cells those panels are made from unless Commerce approves $TOYO’s term sheet. I won’t be comfortable with Section 232 until Commerce approves the term sheet, and Resch expects many such agreements only after the tariff starts on December 4.
@david_katunaric

Mikro Kap David on X

I have no horse in the race, but I don't get why $MNRO bulls are so surprised by the market's reaction to a quarter as shitty as this one, especially after Monro brought in a “turnaround specialist” and closed a bunch of underperforming stores. By now, I don't think anyone disputes that the company is in play, with Icahn and Gabelli pushing for a sale. That said, I'd guess Mavis is still digesting the Pep Boys acquisition, and there aren't all that many buyers willing and able to pay up for a deal like this. With interest expenses set to rise further in 2027, net debt rising, and operating performance this poor, it seems potential buyers can afford to wait a lot longer than Monro can. And that's hardly the position you want to be negotiating from. Lastly, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't buy the hard-asset downside protection argument either. Sure, they own some of their store real estate, but its value doesn't come close to covering what the market is valuing the company at today. I think there's a decent chance a transaction happens, which is why I'm following the situation. But until there's some sign of an operational turnaround, the bet seems pretty binary to me. So I wanted to see if there's something I'm overlooking, or if you're simply more willing than I am to take the risk of "no deal."
@StableBread

Fajasy on X

The first thing I said I’d watch on Quantum $QMCO in my August 16 update was $IBM’s tape drive supply, since CEO Hugues Meyrath said on the June-quarter call that “customers’ demand remains stronger than our ability to fulfill it.” The LTO Program, the group of $HPE, $IBM, and $QMCO that sets the LTO tape standard, reported on September 1, 2026 that tape capacity shipped in Q1 2026 rose 57% from Q1 2025. The 57% measures data capacity, and each new LTO generation holds more data per cartridge, so capacity shipped can grow faster than the number of cartridges sold. Meyrath said on the June-quarter call that $QMCO’s $82.0M ±$2M revenue guidance for the September quarter is only “mildly up” because tape drive supply had stayed “flat for the past handful of months.” $IBM, which supplies the drives, had told $QMCO it would increase production toward the back half of the year, but Meyrath said the increase still hadn’t shown up as of August. So by Meyrath’s account, $IBM’s drive supply, not demand, limits how much $QMCO can sell for now. $QMCO’s quarterly revenue has risen from $62.7M in the September 2025 quarter to $80.8M in the June quarter. Secondary storage, which $QMCO’s 10-K describes as “primarily tape storage systems,” drove the growth. It doubled from a year earlier to $37.0M in the June quarter, 46% of total revenue, up from 29%. That $18.5M increase was more than the $16.5M rise in total revenue, since primary storage, $QMCO’s file and object storage systems, fell to $8.5M from $12.5M.

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