Lilly Revenue Increases Reflect Global Demand for Oral Obesity Therapies

 Eli Lilly LLY reported increases of 43% in revenue and 42% in non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter. For 2026, management guided for $81.5 billion in revenue (25% growth) and non-GAAP EPS of $34.25 (41% growth) at the midpoint. The shares were up 10% intraday on Feb. 4.

Why it matters: Lilly’s strong 2025 results and management’s expectations for continued double-digit growth in 2026 are a contrast with peer Novo Nordisk, which has guided to shrinking revenue this year as US price concessions are compounded by share losses, despite a still-growing incretin market.

• Lilly appears to be expertly navigating a potential low-to-mid-teens pricing headwind this year by driving continued penetration of the obesity self-pay market in the US and internationally.
• We think strong revenue growth will allow Lilly to maintain operating margins despite declining prices. We’re intrigued by the potential of Zepbound and next-generation therapies to complement existing treatments in areas like immunology and neurology.

The bottom line: We’re raising our fair value estimate for wide-moat Eli Lilly to $870 per share from $770 after slightly raising our 2026 forecast and significantly increasing our estimates for Lilly’s orforglipron. Despite this increase, we think momentum has pushed Lilly shares ahead of their intrinsic value.

• We think Lilly’s orforglipron has a clear upper hand internationally over Novo’s Wegovy pill due to ease of manufacturing. We now model global peak sales of $40 billion for orforglipron (up from our prior $30 billion forecast) after seeing strong demand for Novo’s Wegovy pill so far in the US self-pay market.
• We think orforglipron’s launch (likely in the second quarter in the United States and in 2027 internationally) will remain the biggest catalyst for Lilly shares, although additional readouts for triple agonist retatrutide in diabetes and obesity could further strengthen Lilly’s high-efficacy positioning.

https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/eli-lilly-earnings-revenue-increases-reflect-global-demand-oral-obesity-therapies

Qualcomm, Arm Hit by Concern That Memory Shortage Is Spreading

 

Shares of Qualcomm Inc. and Arm Holdings Plc fell steeply after the semiconductor companies delivered quarterly reports, hurt by concern that a shortage of memory chips will crimp growth in the electronics industry.

Both stocks declined more than 8% in extended trading late Wednesday after management signaled that memory constraints will limit phone production. Qualcomm is the largest maker of processors that run smartphones, and Arm gets much of its revenue from royalties on technology used by that industry.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-05/qualcomm-arm-hit-by-concern-that-memory-shortage-is-spreading

DHS Reports More Than 180 Vehicle Attacks On Law Enforcement

 by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

Immigration officers have faced 182 vehicular attacks since President Donald Trump took office last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Feb. 3 statement.

Out of the 182 attacks between Jan. 21, 2025, and Jan. 24, 2026, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers faced 114, up by 124 percent from the 51 attacks during the same time period the previous year. The remaining 68 attacks were faced by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Attacks on ICE are up by 3,300 percent from two assaults previously, according to the DHS.

In an attack in September, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala hit and injured an ICE officer with his car while trying to evade arrest. The incident happened during a traffic stop when the man put his car in reverse and hit the officer in the leg, nearly crushing the officer. The foreign national was eventually arrested.

In another attack earlier last month, two suspected associates of the Tren de Aragua gang weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol. One agent took immediate action to defend himself and others, shooting the illegal immigrants. No law enforcement personnel suffered injuries, while the illegal immigrants were hospitalized.

In its recent statement, DHS listed out several other similar vehicular attacks against immigration officers. The department cited DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s warning that anyone who “lay a hand on a law enforcement officer” would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Sanctuary politicians with their rhetoric comparing ICE to the Nazi Gestapo, slave patrols, and the secret police and encouraging illegal aliens to evade arrest have incited violence against law enforcement,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in the Feb. 3 press release.

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the actions of immigration officers under the Trump administration.

In a Jan. 27 statement, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz characterized the immigration enforcement crackdown in the state as a “campaign of organized brutality” against people.

He criticized immigration agents for shooting to death two individuals in the state, and accused them of attacking “countless” protesters and bystanders.

One of the individuals was protestor Renee Good, whom an ICE officer shot on Jan. 7. Federal authorities say the officer acted in self-defense as Good allegedly attempted to hit the person with her vehicle during an enforcement operation.

The second individual, Alex Pretti, 37, was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 24. Pretti allegedly carried a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and was shot during an attempt to disarm him.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who voted against a bill to fund DHS, justified his voting decision by alleging “cruelty” committed by ICE and CBP, according to a Jan. 29 statement from the lawmaker’s office.

ICE and CBP “have terrorized American cities, killed U.S. citizens, and detained innocent children. They continue to go after people with no criminal backgrounds, including arresting U.S. citizens exercising their First Amendment rights,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a Jan. 26 statement, DHS said there has been an 8,000 percent increase in death threats and a more than 1,300 percent surge in assaults against law enforcement officers.

DHS published the transcript of a voicemail received by an ICE officer in Minnesota last month, in which the caller asks the officer to “kill yourself,” wishing that his wife and both parents die. The caller characterizes the officer as a “murderer” and a “traitor to the American people.”

McLaughlin said the “unprecedented” violence against law enforcement officers was the result of “repeated vilification and demonization” of the personnel by lawmakers.

The officers “get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, we just want to go home to our families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop,” she said.

Multiple incidents of assault on immigration officers have occurred over the past month.

On Jan. 14, DHS said in an X post that an ICE agent was hospitalized after being ambushed and attacked with a shovel by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant.

A couple of weeks later, on Jan. 28, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that 16 protesters in Minneapolis were arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dhs-reports-more-180-vehicle-attacks-law-enforcement

Putin Notifies Xi Of New START Status As Trump Ready To Let Go Of Nuclear Arms Control With Russia

 President Putin in his Wednesday video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored that the last major nuclear treaty with the United States is on the eve of collapse.

New START is set to expire on Thursday. Putin notified Xi that Washington has not yet responded. "As you know, on September 22, 2025, we proposed to the Americans to extend the key quantitative limits for one year as voluntary self-restrictions. However, we have not yet received an official response from the Americans," Putin said, as quoted in state media.

Despite the situation with the New START Treaty, Russia remains open "to seeking negotiated ways to ensure strategic stability" - the Russian leader explained.

Putin further stated his country will act "in a measured and responsible manner, based on a thorough analysis of the overall security situation."

Over several years going back to his first term, Trump has signaled a desire to forge a broader deal which would bring China into the agreement, which hearkens back to the Obama administration. 

Politico is meanwhile reporting that the Trump administration is preparing to "let go of arms control with Russia":

The likely dissolution of the agreement comes at an especially fraught time. Russia and China are expanding their strategic arsenals and the Kremlin has threatened to use nuclear weapons on Ukraine. The Defense Department has held a series of internal meetings in preparation for a post-New START world, according to the two people and another person familiar — all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss internal talks — although it’s not clear what was discussed in the meetings.

“We’re looking at a very uncertain path ahead,” said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association. “Unless Trump and Putin reach some sort of understanding soon, it’s not unlikely that Russia and the U.S. will start to upload more warheads on their missiles.”

The Kremlin has made clear Russia is willing to extend it for another year, to allow more robust negotiations and for a longer deal to be finalized. But again, unless it is renewed or extended at the last minute, the landmark treaty will expire on Thursday, February 5.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, on Monday made clear that Russia's offer to quickly extend "remains on the table, and the treaty has not even expired yet, and if the American side wants to extend it, then this can be done."

He also confirmed that Moscow has received no response on this offer from Washington:

Medvedev told the newspaper Kommersant that Moscow might have to wait until the expiry of the treaty on February 5 for a U.S. response to the Russian initiative.

When contacted for comment, a White House official told Newsweek Monday: "The president will decide the path forward on nuclear arms control, which he will clarify on his own timeline."  

Indeed, the Trump White House has yet to issue anything official. Of course, President Trump is also known for making key decisions at the last moment, building suspense and leverage, based on also on his notorious unpredictable decision-making style.

The New START treaty, which has contained the risk of a nuclear standoff between America and Russia, expires soon. To make matters more dangerous, there is a new player in the game—China: https://t.co/w2LZ59AbYu pic.twitter.com/xNySz54I0V

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 4, 2026

According to Monica Duffy Toft, professor of international politics and director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School, "By providing transparency into the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, New START has lowered the risk that either side will misinterpret normal military activity as preparation for a nuclear strike."

It was signed in 2010 by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, and limits the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 per side, and caps deployed delivery systems - including of missiles, bombers, and submarines - at 700. There's also a mutual inspection regimen, allowing each side to monitor the other's sites.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-notifies-xi-new-start-status-trump-ready-let-go-nuclear-arms-control-russia

Do Democrats Think They Can Skate On ICE To The Midterms?

 With nothing else to run on, Democrats appear to think that demonizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be enough to win them control of Congress come November.

“In their campaigns, Democrats across the country are responding to the anger felt by many communities over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations,” reports CBS News. If they can sustain today’s anger, the argument goes, voters will turn out in droves to clip the Trump administration’s wings in his last two years in office.  

But there are a multitude of reasons why this strategy isn’t likely to work.

First, November is a long way off. And anything can happen between now and then that will shift the public’s attention.

Second, deportations aren’t necessarily a winning issue for Democrats. Polls on this are decidedly mixed.

A new survey by RealClear Opinion Research finds that, while 48% of respondents say immigration policy is worse than a year ago, the public is still far more supportive of Trump’s approach than Biden’s open-border chaos (by a margin of 43% to 28%)  

A poll by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton’s America One Policies PAC finds that a whopping 78% agree that the government should deport immigrants who are in the country illegally and have criminal records, 56% support deporting illegals who came within the last four years.

“The basic takeaway here is that, according to the PAC’s polling, Americans are comfortable with deportation, but ICE needs to change its tactics,” as Punchline puts it. 

Changing tactics is easy enough, which can drain the energy of the issue in voters’ minds.

Third, it doesn’t help Democrats to be on the side of crazed rioters, funded by far-left groups, who are attacking law enforcement in support of dangerous felons in the country illegally, rioters who are willing to storm a church service and viciously attack a female reporter covering their antics (see below).

Finally, the economy matters far more to voters than protests in far-left cities such as Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

And there are signs that growth will be the story of the day this fall. The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s latest GDPNow pegs growth in the last three months of 2025 at 4.2%. That would be on top of 3.8% growth in Q2 and 4.4% growth in Q3.

Goldman Sachs is projecting 2.5% growth this year, which is higher than most economists have been predicting, and even that could be too pessimistic, given that the Trump economy has consistently outperformed expectations. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said recently that the administration expects growth in 2026 to be closer to 5%.

Inflation is moderating. The prices of some things — like gasoline and eggs — are down. Real wages are climbing.

But then again, the Democrats’ hysteria about ICE isn’t about deportations or tactics or civil rights. It’s about winning the next election.

That means keeping their base in a state of high agitation about Trump, while trying to demoralize Republicans and independents. And if it’s not ICE, they will find something else.

Any scare tactic will do.

https://issuesinsights.com/2026/02/04/do-democrats-think-they-can-skate-on-ice-to-the-midterms/

"You'd Be Justified In Shooting": Nadler Triggers Outcry Over Violent Rhetoric Against ICE

 by Jonathan Turley,

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., NY) is under fire this week for joining other Democratic members in reckless rhetoric to fuel the growing threats against federal law enforcement officers. Calling out the “fascism in our streets,” Nadler suggested that citizens could be justified in shooting masked agents, a chilling claim made earlier by other Democratic leaders.

The New York Post reported the comments made in a Judiciary Committee hearing. Nadler declared:

“What is really the major problem in this country today is the fascism in our streets. The attacks on American citizens, by masked hoodlums. If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped. You’d be justified in shooting the person — to protect yourself.”

The agents are wearing masks because different groups are actively publishing their identities and personal information online. The result has not only been doxxing but threats made against the families of these agents. Democratic politicians have pledged to assist in the effort to “unmask” and publish the identities of these officers as threats soar.

For many, these statements suggest that they have a license under laws like Stand Your Ground to shoot at agents and claim mistaken self-defense.

The continued use of such rhetoric in the face of soaring attacks and threats against officers is the worst form of demagoguery.

At the same time, members like Rep. Dan Goldman (D. NY) deny that there is evidence of a sharp increase in attacks despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Notably, Nadler and his colleagues pushed for the impeachment of Donald Trump for what they called his inflammatory rhetoric on January 6th despite his call for the protests to remain peaceful.

Other members are engaging in the same hyperbolic rhetoric to appeal to the growing mob on the left.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D. Conn.) seems the most unhinged:

“What is happening in Minnesota right now is a dystopia. ICE is tear gassing elementary schools. It is disappearing legal residents into cars. It is murdering American citizens.”

Aspiring Democrats are getting the message.

Total Wine billionaire David Trone — who is running to recapture his Maryland congressional district from fellow Democrat Rep. April McClain-Delaney, declared this week that the federal government is “literally executing people on the streets” in “not just Minneapolis… all over the United States.”

Ohio Democratic Attorney General candidate Elliot Forhan is running on the catchy pledge that “I will kill Donald Trump.” It is a race to the bottom as Democratic leaders try to take the lead in mob politics.

When combined with the rationalization for the use of lethal force against officers, this rhetoric is not just inflammatory but dangerous. We have heard these voices before in our history.

As discussed in Rage and the Republic, we have a rising class of new Jacobins, politicians and pundits who are pandering to the mob. History does not bode well for these politicians seeking to ride the wave of rage when the mob turns against them.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/youd-be-justified-shooting-rep-jerry-nadler-triggers-outcry-over-violent-rhetoric-against

Russian Spy Satellites Suspected of Intercepting Key European Space Assets

 According to Western space authorities, the Russian satellites — known as Luch-1 and Luch-2 — have been conducting repeated close-proximity manoeuvres near European geostationary satellites, remaining nearby for weeks or even months at a time, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Orbital data and ground-based telescope observations show that since its launch in 2023, Luch-2 alone has approached at least 17 European satellites, many of which are operated by NATO-based entities.

“These satellites are suspected of conducting signals intelligence operations,” Major General Michael Traut, head of Germany’s military space command, said, noting that the Russian vehicles were positioning themselves unusually close to Western communications satellites.

Unencrypted Command Links Raise Security Risks

A senior European intelligence official warned that many European satellites remain vulnerable because their command data is not encrypted, as they were launched years ago without advanced onboard computing or encryption systems.

Officials believe the Russian spacecraft were positioning themselves within the narrow data transmission cones linking satellites to Earth-based ground stations, potentially allowing Moscow to record command signals used to control satellite orbits.

This could enable hostile actors to later mimic ground controllers, issue false commands, manipulate satellite trajectories, or in extreme cases, cause satellites to drift off course or re-enter the atmosphere.

Hybrid Warfare Extending Into Space

The suspected space interceptions come amid growing concern that Russia is expanding its hybrid warfare tactics in Europe, following sabotage incidents such as damage to subsea internet and power cables.

European intelligence and military officials increasingly fear that similar disruptive activities could be extended into space, exploiting the vulnerability of satellite networks that underpin modern civilian, commercial and military communications.

“Satellite networks are an Achilles’ heel of modern societies,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in a speech last September. “Whoever attacks them can paralyse entire nations.”

Civilian Satellites With Sensitive Roles

While the targeted satellites are primarily used for civilian purposes such as satellite television, officials noted that many also carry government and limited military communications, increasing the strategic significance of the suspected interceptions.

Although Luch-1 and Luch-2 are not believed to have the capability to directly destroy or jam satellites, intelligence officials said the data gathered could help Russia develop ground-based jamming or cyber operations against Western space assets.

Monitoring satellite usage can also reveal who is using them, when and where — intelligence that could later be exploited for targeted interference.

Growing Russian Reconnaissance Capabilities

Space analysts say Russia appears to be accelerating its orbital reconnaissance programme. Two additional satellites, Cosmos 2589 and Cosmos 2590, were launched last year and appear to have manoeuvrable capabilities similar to the Luch vehicles.

One of them is reportedly moving toward geostationary orbit, roughly 35,000 kilometres above Earth, where many of Europe’s most critical satellites operate.

However, Luch-1 may no longer be fully operational. On January 30, telescopic observations detected what appeared to be a propulsion-related gas plume followed by partial fragmentation, suggesting a possible malfunction.

Escalating Threat Perception

Analysts tracking Russian satellite activity say the repeated approaches to the same satellite operators point to deliberate intelligence-gathering missions.

“They have visited the same families, the same operators — all NATO-based,” said one senior orbital analyst, adding that even without decryption capabilities, significant operational intelligence can still be extracted.

European officials warned that Russia’s increasingly assertive behaviour in space represents a fundamental security challenge that Western governments can no longer afford to overlook.

https://clashreport.com/world/articles/russian-spy-satellites-suspected-of-intercepting-key-european-space-assets-toyfyain60o

Sources:

Financial Times