AXL posts second-quarter earnings beat despite revenue dip, lifting full-year sales and cash flow guidance.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL ) Q2 2025 Earnings Conference Call August 8, 2025 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Christopher John May - Executive VP & CFO David Charles Dauch - Chairman & CEO David H. Lim - Head of Investor Relations Conference Call Participants Douglas Evan Karson - BofA Securities, Research Division Federico Merendi - BofA Securities, Research Division Gautam Narayan - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division Itay Michaeli - TD Cowen, Research Division Joseph Robert Spak - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division Thomas Jacob Scholl - BNP Paribas Exane, Research Division Xin Yu - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division Operator Good morning.

CMI, RIVN, LCID, and AXL are poised to beat Q2 estimates despite industry headwinds and weaker sector earnings.

Arrow Exploration Corp (TSX-V:AXL, AIM:AXL, OTC:CSTPF) has brought two new horizontal wells into production in Colombia's Llanos Basin, boosting its current output to between 4,600 and 4,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day, net to the company. The wells, named AB HZ4 and AB HZ5, came online in June and July, respectively, at the Alberta Llanos field.

American Axle & Manufacturing is undervalued at 4.9x 2027 EPS, with strong clients like GM and Stellantis supporting stable demand and future growth. Ongoing M&A, restructuring, and asset sales are expected to improve financial flexibility, reduce net debt, and enhance free cash flow margins. The Dowlais acquisition could bring synergies and FCF margin expansion, while note repurchases and asset divestitures further strengthen the balance sheet.

BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $AXL #axelar--OpenZeppelin, the most trusted provider of open source standards for building secure blockchain applications, and Interop Labs, the initial developer of Axelar, a leading web3 interoperability platform, announced today the launch of OpenBridge, an open source framework for developers to integrate multiple interoperability protocols in a single message. OpenBridge is built on the ERC-7786 crosschain messaging standard, recently endorsed by the Ethereum Foundation's Inter.

Arrow Exploration Corp (TSX-V:AXL, AIM:AXL, OTC:CSTPF) has announced the start of a share buyback programme, for up to £2.7 million of shares. It will be funded out of existing cash, executed by stockbroker Canaccord Genuity and acquired shares will be cancelled.

SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $AXL #axelar--Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, announced the listing of AXL, the native token of Axelar Network, in an AXL/KRW trading pair, effective June 10, 2025. The listing is detailed in Upbit's official notice. In its opening hours, the AXL-KRW pair recorded trading volume of over $220 million, ranking as the third largest trading pair on Upbit by 24-hour volume, surpassing BTC/KRW and XRP/KRW pairs, per CoinGecko data. The AXL token supports Axelar's.

Arrow Exploration Corp (TSX-V:AXL, AIM:AXL, OTC:CSTPF) shares will be driven higher by its ongoing and regular drill activity, that’s according to analysts at Zeus Capital. The London-based stockbroker has repeated a ‘Buy’ recommendation with a price target pitched at 45p, compared to Arrow’s current market price of around 16.3p. Earlier today, Arrow reported a 36% increase in total oil and gas revenue, reaching US$19.51 million. First quarter earnings (EBITDA) climbed 15% to US$11.53 million, whilst net income amounted to US$2.66 million for the quarter. It comes as the growing oil and gas group continues to develop its fields in Colombia, with new horizontal wells unlocking higher volumes. Production increased to 4,085 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up 50% compared to the same period a year ago. Operating cash flow totalled $14.43 million, and the company ended the quarter with $24.95 million in cash, after $11.38 million of capex in the three-month period. Arrow drilled two development wells, AB 2 and AB 3, in the Alberta Llanos field. It also completed a 90 km² seismic survey on the southeast Tapir Block. Post-quarter, Arrow spudded the AB HZ4 horizontal well and entered into a US$20 million prepayment agreement with an integrated energy firm to market its Colombian oil. "The first quarter of 2025 has been exciting for Arrow,” chief executive Marshall Abbott said in a statement. Regular drilling, regular news flow Zeus Capital analyst Daniel Slater, in a note, highlighted that Arrow’s schedule of drilling will provide catalysts for the company to raise its valuation. “Going forward, we look for ongoing execution of the 2025 work programme, and for this to support higher production rates to help underpin our full year forecasts,” Slater said. The analyst added: “These results demonstrate the company’s ability to generate production cash flows to fund its significant ongoing 2025 drilling programme, while also building the balance sheet cash position. “While we will need to see a ramp up in production over the rest of the year in order to make our forecasts, the company is well placed to do this given the increased drilling programme that is planned.” Horizontal development Arrow boss Marshall Abbott today told investors that recent well successes - AB 2 and AB 3 – in the Alberta Llanos field highlighted the potential for horizontal development in the Ubaque reservoir, as well as follow-up zones in the C7 and Guadalupe zones. "During the dry summer months in the Llanos basin, the company has developed a new road system from the Carrizales Norte pad to the Capullo pad, the Mateguafa Oeste pad and the Mateguafa Attic pad,” Abbott said. “These pads will be utilised in the company's planned drilling program for the remainder of 2025. The company has secured a second rig which is expected to spud the first of four wells at RCE in early June." Abbott, meanwhile, highlighted that Arrow retains “very healthy netbacks” on its production, in spite of the oil price volatility seen in global markets through early 2025. He noted that the focus is on growing production, continuing development at the Carrizales Norte, Rio Cravo Este and Alberta Llanos fields. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST, ETR:CTO) posted quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates, as the membership-only warehouse retailer saw its sales jump 8% year-over-year. For the fiscal third quarter which ended on May 11, revenue was $63.2 billion, ahead of the $63.19 billion expected by analysts. Profit for the quarter was $1.9 billion or $4.28 per share, beating estimates of $4.24. Costco does provide an annual outlook, but during its earnings call, CEO Ron Vachris addressed the impact of tariffs. The CEO said the company has proactively managed tariff challenges by accelerating shipments, sourcing more American-made products, and frequently adjusting prices to minimize cost impacts. The company’s tariff exposure is well-managed, analysts at Jefferies believe. “Costco re-confirmed that roughly a third of US sales are imported from other countries, including 8% from China, which drove positive low-single-digit percentage inflation in non-food items,” they wrote. “Management noted rerouting these goods to non-US markets, advancing summer goods, and boosting locally sourced production in the US and Asia, which has lowered member prices by 40% in some regions.” The analysts also highlighted Costco’s efforts to enhance the member experience through technology pilots, such as its expedited checkout technology, ‘Scan-and-Go.’ “Combined with the integration of digital membership cards and improvements in digital wallet usage, management noted improved throughput, evidenced by the immediate positive impact on gas station gallon sales,” analysts wrote. Market share gains ahead Jefferies maintained its 'Buy' rating on Costco following the company’s “strong print” for Q1, noting it is well-positioned for further share gains ahead. “Costco is a defensive name by nature due to its membership model that generates predictable sales and profits, an attractive value orientation, a higher-income customer, and a relatively significant penetration of consumables as a percentage of sales,” they wrote. “Additionally, the company continues to open new clubs in the US, has a meaningful runway for ongoing international expansion, notably China, and recently raised its membership prices.” The analysts have a price target of $1,180 on Costco, reflecting upside of 17% at the time of writing. Shares of Costco moved higher in early trade on Friday, adding 2.7% at about $1,036.

Arrow Exploration Corp (TSX-V:AXL, AIM:AXL, OTC:CSTPF) described its first quarter as “exciting” as it reported a 36% increase in total oil and gas revenue, reaching US$19.51 million. First quarter earnings (EBITDA) climbed 15% to US$11.53 million, whilst net income amounted to US$2.66 million for the quarter.