Category: Trade

MIL-OSI USA: United States Seizes Venezuelan Aircraft Involved in Violations of U.S. Export Control and Sanctions Laws

Source: US State of California

The Dassault Falcon 2000EX Aircraft Was Used by Venezuela’s State-Owned Oil and Natural Gas Company and Illegally Maintained and Serviced Using Parts from the United States

The Justice Department announced today that Dominican Republic authorities seized a Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft used by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural-gas company, at the request of the U.S. government based on violations of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.

“The use of American-made parts to service and maintain aircraft operated by sanctioned entities like PdVSA is intolerable,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department, along with its federal law enforcement partners, will continue to safeguard our national security by identifying, disrupting, and dismantling schemes aimed at procuring American goods in violation of our sanctions and export control laws.”

“Today’s announcement — the seizure of a sanctioned aircraft used by the Maduro regime — clearly shows that sanctions and export control laws have teeth,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Kevin J. Kurland of the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). “BIS will continue to aggressively investigate and hold accountable those who violate our regulations.”

“The seizure of the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft provides yet another example of this office’s commitment to enforcing America’s export control laws against Venezuelan-owned PdVSA and other sanctioned entities,” said U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida. “Asset forfeiture is a powerful law enforcement tool, which we will continue to use aggressively to deter, disrupt, and otherwise combat criminal activity.”

“This seizure demonstrates HSI’s unwavering commitment to enforcing U.S. export control and sanctions laws around the globe,” said Edwin F. Lopez, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Santo Domingo Country Attaché. “By working closely with our partners in the Dominican Republic and across the U.S. government, we successfully prevented the violation of U.S. laws designed to protect national security and foreign policy interests. HSI will continue to use its global reach and investigative expertise to target those who seek to evade justice and undermine the rule of law.”

In August 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13884, which, among other things, prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with persons who have acted or purported to act directly or indirectly for or on behalf of PdVSA. Pursuant to the EO, on Jan. 21, 2020, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified 15 aircraft as blocked property of U.S. law that generally prohibit transactions by U.S. persons within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in blocked property.

According to the U.S. investigation, in July 2017, PdVSA purchased the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft from the United States and exported it to Venezuela where it was registered under tail number YV-3360. Following the imposition of sanctions on PdVSA and identification of the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft as blocked property of PdVSA, the aircraft was serviced and maintained on multiple occasions using parts from the United States. The servicing included a brake assembly, electronic flight displays, and flight management computers: all in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.

According to a public statement issued by OFAC, since at least January 2019, the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft has transported Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez, who is also sanctioned by the U.S. government, to an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in the United Arab Emirates and has been used to transport senior members of the Maduro regime in a continuation of the regime’s misappropriation of PdVSA assets.

The Justice Department previously announced in September 2024 the seizure of a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft in the Dominican Republic that was owned and operated for the benefit of Nicolás Maduro Moros and persons affiliated with him in Venezuela.

The BIS Miami Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from HSI Santo Domingo.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jorge Delgado and Joshua Paster for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are handling the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan D. Stratton and Ajay J. Alexander for the Southern District of Florida also provided assistance.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and HSI El Dorado Task Force Miami provided significant assistance. The United States thanks the Dominican Republic for its assistance in this matter.

The burden to prove forfeitability in a forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Louisville Man Sentenced to Over 8 Years in Federal Prison for Cocaine Distribution and Firearm Offense

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Louisville, KY – A local man was sentenced this week to 8 years and 1 month for conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Chief Paul Humphrey of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.

According to court documents, Roger Bailey, 42, was sentenced to 8 years and 1 month in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Between April 9, 2024, and May 29, 2024, Bailey conspired with other persons to possess with intent to distribute cocaine by selling cocaine on four occasions. On May 29, 2024, a residential search warrant was executed on Bailey’s residence located at 441 South 29th Street, Louisville, Kentucky. During the search, cocaine, a Mossberg, Model MMR, 5.56 caliber rifle, a Glock, Model 19, 9-millimeter pistol, an American Tactical Imports, Model Omni Hybrid, multi-caliber pistol, and ammunition were found and seized.

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the ATF with assistance from the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erwin Roberts is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

###

MIL Security OSI –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: United States Seizes Venezuelan Aircraft Involved in Violations of U.S. Export Control and Sanctions Laws

Source: United States Attorneys General

The Dassault Falcon 2000EX Aircraft Was Used by Venezuela’s State-Owned Oil and Natural Gas Company and Illegally Maintained and Serviced Using Parts from the United States

The Justice Department announced today that Dominican Republic authorities seized a Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft used by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural-gas company, at the request of the U.S. government based on violations of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.

“The use of American-made parts to service and maintain aircraft operated by sanctioned entities like PdVSA is intolerable,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department, along with its federal law enforcement partners, will continue to safeguard our national security by identifying, disrupting, and dismantling schemes aimed at procuring American goods in violation of our sanctions and export control laws.”

“Today’s announcement — the seizure of a sanctioned aircraft used by the Maduro regime — clearly shows that sanctions and export control laws have teeth,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Kevin J. Kurland of the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). “BIS will continue to aggressively investigate and hold accountable those who violate our regulations.”

“The seizure of the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft provides yet another example of this office’s commitment to enforcing America’s export control laws against Venezuelan-owned PdVSA and other sanctioned entities,” said U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida. “Asset forfeiture is a powerful law enforcement tool, which we will continue to use aggressively to deter, disrupt, and otherwise combat criminal activity.”

“This seizure demonstrates HSI’s unwavering commitment to enforcing U.S. export control and sanctions laws around the globe,” said Edwin F. Lopez, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Santo Domingo Country Attaché. “By working closely with our partners in the Dominican Republic and across the U.S. government, we successfully prevented the violation of U.S. laws designed to protect national security and foreign policy interests. HSI will continue to use its global reach and investigative expertise to target those who seek to evade justice and undermine the rule of law.”

In August 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13884, which, among other things, prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with persons who have acted or purported to act directly or indirectly for or on behalf of PdVSA. Pursuant to the EO, on Jan. 21, 2020, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified 15 aircraft as blocked property of U.S. law that generally prohibit transactions by U.S. persons within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in blocked property.

According to the U.S. investigation, in July 2017, PdVSA purchased the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft from the United States and exported it to Venezuela where it was registered under tail number YV-3360. Following the imposition of sanctions on PdVSA and identification of the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft as blocked property of PdVSA, the aircraft was serviced and maintained on multiple occasions using parts from the United States. The servicing included a brake assembly, electronic flight displays, and flight management computers: all in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.

According to a public statement issued by OFAC, since at least January 2019, the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft has transported Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez, who is also sanctioned by the U.S. government, to an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in the United Arab Emirates and has been used to transport senior members of the Maduro regime in a continuation of the regime’s misappropriation of PdVSA assets.

The Justice Department previously announced in September 2024 the seizure of a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft in the Dominican Republic that was owned and operated for the benefit of Nicolás Maduro Moros and persons affiliated with him in Venezuela.

The BIS Miami Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from HSI Santo Domingo.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jorge Delgado and Joshua Paster for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are handling the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan D. Stratton and Ajay J. Alexander for the Southern District of Florida also provided assistance.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and HSI El Dorado Task Force Miami provided significant assistance. The United States thanks the Dominican Republic for its assistance in this matter.

The burden to prove forfeitability in a forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.

MIL Security OSI –

February 7, 2025

MIL-OSI: StepStone Group Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2025 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEW YORK, Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP), a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services, today reported results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. This represents results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. The Board of Directors of the Company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share of Class A common stock, payable on March 14, 2025, to the holders of record as of the close of business on February 28, 2025.

StepStone issued a full detailed presentation of its third quarter fiscal 2025 results, which can be accessed by visiting the Company’s website at https://shareholders.stepstonegroup.com.

Webcast and Earnings Conference Call

Management will host a webcast and conference call today, Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 5:00 pm ET to discuss the Company’s results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. The webcast will be made available on the Shareholders section of the Company’s website at https://shareholders.stepstonegroup.com. To listen to a live broadcast, go to the site at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to register. A replay will also be available on the Shareholders section of the Company’s website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the event.

To join as a live participant in the question and answer portion of the call, participants must register at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI4d11263234d648c092cf5d1e8339df8d. Upon registering you will receive the dial-in number and a PIN to join the call as well as an email confirmation with the details.

About StepStone

StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP) is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. As of December 31, 2024, StepStone was responsible for approximately $698 billion of total capital, including $179 billion of assets under management. StepStone’s clients include some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, as well as prominent endowments, foundations, family offices and private wealth clients, which include high-net-worth and mass affluent individuals. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build private markets portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across the private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate asset classes.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “plan” and “will” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current plans, estimates and expectations and are inherently uncertain. The inclusion of any forward-looking information in this release should not be regarded as a representation that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, global and domestic market and business conditions, our successful execution of business and growth strategies, the favorability of the private markets fundraising environment, successful integration of acquired businesses and regulatory factors relevant to our business, as well as assumptions relating to our operations, financial results, financial condition, business prospects, growth strategy and liquidity and the risks and uncertainties described in greater detail under the “Risk Factors” section of our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 24, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted management and advisory fees, net, adjusted revenues, adjusted net income (on both a pre-tax and after-tax basis), adjusted net income per share, adjusted weighted-average shares, fee-related earnings, fee-related earnings margin, gross realized performance fees and net realized performance fees. We have provided this non-GAAP financial information, which is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP, as information supplemental and in addition to the financial measures presented in this earnings release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Such non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for or alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the GAAP financial measures presented in this earnings release. The presentation of these measures should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures in this earnings release may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry or across different industries. For definitions of these non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to applicable GAAP measures, please see the section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures: Definitions and Reconciliations.”


Financial Highlights and Key Business Drivers/Operating Metrics

	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended December 31,						Percentage Change
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts and where noted)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023			2024		vs. FQ3’24		vs. FQ3’24 YTD
Financial Highlights
GAAP Results
Management and advisory fees, net	$	151,492		$	153,410		$	178,015		$	184,758		$	190,840		$	431,730		$	553,613		26	%	28	%
Total revenues		(14,612	)		356,810			186,401			271,677			339,023			354,821			797,101		na		125	%
Total performance fees		(166,104	)		203,400			8,386			86,919			148,183			(76,909	)		243,488		na		na
Net income (loss)		(23,419	)		82,542			48,045			53,138			(287,163	)		85,278			(185,980	)	na		na
Net income (loss) per share of Class A common stock:
Basic	$	(0.32	)	$	0.48		$	0.20		$	0.26		$	(2.61	)	$	0.43		$	(2.32	)	(725)	%	na
Diluted	$	(0.32	)	$	0.48		$	0.20		$	0.26		$	(2.61	)	$	0.43		$	(2.32	)	(725)	%	na
Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock:
Basic		64,068,952			64,194,859			66,187,754			68,772,051			73,687,289			63,255,604			69,561,254		15	%	10	%
Diluted		64,068,952			67,281,567			68,593,761			69,695,315			73,687,289			66,299,982			69,561,254		15	%	5	%
Quarterly dividend per share of Class A common stock⁽¹⁾	$	0.21		$	0.21		$	0.21		$	0.24		$	0.24		$	0.62		$	0.69		14	%	11	%
Supplemental dividend per share of Class A common stock⁽²⁾	$	—		$	—		$	0.15		$	—		$	—		$	0.25		$	0.15		na		(40)	%
Accrued carried interest allocations		1,203,847			1,354,051			1,328,853			1,381,110			1,474,543								22	%

Non-GAAP Results⁽³⁾
Adjusted management and advisory fees, net⁽⁴⁾	$	151,943		$	153,808		$	178,514		$	185,481		$	191,832		$	432,571		$	555,827		26	%	28	%
Adjusted revenues		185,123			177,357			221,165			208,788			243,905			487,703			673,858		32	%	38	%
Fee-related earnings (“FRE”)		50,664			50,900			71,656			72,349			74,118			138,893			218,123		46	%	57	%
FRE margin⁽⁵⁾		33	%		33	%		40	%		39	%		39	%		32	%		39	%
Gross realized performance fees		33,180			23,549			42,651			23,307			52,073			55,132			118,031		57	%	114	%
Adjusted net income (“ANI”)		42,116			37,716			57,241			53,569			52,659			101,677			163,469		25	%	61	%
Adjusted weighted-average shares		115,232,927			115,512,301			118,510,499			118,774,233			118,935,179			115,009,445			118,740,805		3	%	3	%
ANI per share	$	0.37		$	0.33		$	0.48		$	0.45		$	0.44		$	0.88		$	1.38		19	%	57	%

Key Business Drivers/Operating Metrics (in billions)
Assets under management (“AUM”)⁽⁶⁾	$	149.0		$	156.6		$	169.3		$	176.1		$	179.2								20	%
Assets under advisement (“AUA”)⁽⁶⁾		510.5			521.1			531.4			505.9			518.7								2	%
Fee-earning AUM (“FEAUM”)		89.4			93.9			100.4			104.4			114.2								28	%
Undeployed fee-earning capital (“UFEC”)		21.4			22.6			27.6			29.7			21.7								1	%

_______________________________
(1)      Dividends paid, as reported in this table, relate to the preceding quarterly period in which they were earned.
(2)      The supplemental cash dividend relates to earnings in respect of our full fiscal years 2023 and 2024, respectively.
(3)      Adjusted management and advisory fees, net, adjusted revenues, FRE, FRE margin, gross realized performance fees, ANI, adjusted weighted-average shares and ANI per share are non-GAAP measures. See the definitions of these measures and reconciliations to the respective, most comparable GAAP measures under “Non-GAAP Financial Measures: Definitions and Reconciliations.”
(4)      Excludes the impact of consolidating the Consolidated Funds. See reconciliation of GAAP measures to adjusted measures that follows.
(5)      FRE margin is calculated by dividing FRE by adjusted management and advisory fees, net.
(6)      AUM/AUA reflects final data for the prior period, adjusted for net new client account activity through the period presented. Does not include post-period investment valuation or cash activity. Net asset value (“NAV”) data for underlying investments is as of the prior period, as reported by underlying managers up to the business day occurring on or after 100 days, or 115 days at the fiscal year-end, following the prior period end. When NAV data is not available by the business day occurring on or after 100 days, or 115 days at the fiscal year-end, following the prior period end, such NAVs are adjusted for cash activity following the last available reported NAV.


StepStone Group Inc. GAAP Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

	As of
	December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	223,103		$	143,430
Restricted cash		720			718
Fees and accounts receivable		63,521			56,769
Due from affiliates		96,590			67,531
Investments:
Investments in funds		172,748			135,043
Accrued carried interest allocations		1,474,543			1,354,051
Legacy Greenspring investments in funds and accrued carried interest allocations⁽¹⁾		572,459			631,197
Deferred income tax assets		356,122			184,512
Lease right-of-use assets, net		90,567			97,763
Other assets and receivables		66,114			60,611
Intangibles, net		274,122			304,873
Goodwill		580,542			580,542
Assets of Consolidated Funds:
Cash and cash equivalents		55,681			38,164
Investments, at fair value		320,482			131,858
Other assets		2,333			1,745
Total assets	$	4,349,647		$	3,788,807
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities	$	139,068		$	127,417
Accrued compensation and benefits		690,321			101,481
Accrued carried interest-related compensation		730,218			719,497
Legacy Greenspring accrued carried interest-related compensation⁽¹⁾		439,898			484,154
Due to affiliates		315,739			212,918
Lease liabilities		112,175			119,739
Debt obligations		168,942			148,822
Liabilities of Consolidated Funds:
Other liabilities		9,860			1,645
Total liabilities		2,606,221			1,915,673
Redeemable non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds		286,822			102,623
Redeemable non-controlling interests in subsidiaries		6,552			115,920
Stockholders’ equity:
Class A common stock, $0.001 par value, 650,000,000 authorized; 75,841,118 and 65,614,902 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively		76			66
Class B common stock, $0.001 par value, 125,000,000 authorized; 40,127,254 and 45,030,959 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively		40			45
Additional paid-in capital		415,059			310,293
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)		(205,674	)		13,768
Accumulated other comprehensive income		341			304
Total StepStone Group Inc. stockholders’ equity		209,842			324,476
Non-controlling interests in subsidiaries		1,051,919			974,559
Non-controlling interests in legacy Greenspring entities⁽¹⁾		132,561			147,042
Non-controlling interests in the Partnership		55,730			208,514
Total stockholders’ equity		1,450,052			1,654,591
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	4,349,647		$	3,788,807

(1) Reflects amounts attributable to consolidated VIEs for which the Company did not acquire any direct economic interests.


StepStone Group Inc. GAAP Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) (Unaudited) (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Nine Months Ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenues
Management and advisory fees, net	$	190,840		$	151,492		$	553,613		$	431,730
Performance fees:
Incentive fees		22,369			17,891			26,365			22,843
Carried interest allocations:
Realized		24,282			15,289			83,718			31,347
Unrealized		93,325			(129,584	)		120,370			(24,849	)
Total carried interest allocations		117,607			(114,295	)		204,088			6,498
Legacy Greenspring carried interest allocations⁽¹⁾		8,207			(69,700	)		13,035			(106,250	)
Total performance fees		148,183			(166,104	)		243,488			(76,909	)
Total revenues		339,023			(14,612	)		797,101			354,821
Expenses
Compensation and benefits:
Cash-based compensation		85,203			73,619			246,298			218,551
Equity-based compensation		486,418			14,032			542,929			28,420
Performance fee-related compensation:
Realized		25,477			15,444			55,092			26,266
Unrealized		49,670			(62,243	)		66,495			(9,320	)
Total performance fee-related compensation		75,147			(46,799	)		121,587			16,946
Legacy Greenspring performance fee-related compensation⁽¹⁾		8,207			(69,700	)		13,035			(106,250	)
Total compensation and benefits		654,975			(28,848	)		923,849			157,667
General, administrative and other		43,130			48,001			134,202			113,007
Total expenses		698,105			19,153			1,058,051			270,674
Other income (expense)
Investment income (loss)		1,064			(2,051	)		5,710			4,115
Legacy Greenspring investment income (loss)⁽¹⁾		1,167			(2,222	)		(4,119	)		(9,054	)
Investment income of Consolidated Funds		15,037			11,223			30,878			22,357
Interest income		2,559			827			7,632			2,235
Interest expense		(3,008	)		(2,562	)		(9,510	)		(6,682	)
Other income (loss)		(2,452	)		4,408			(1,626	)		3,763
Total other income		14,367			9,623			28,965			16,734
Income (loss) before income tax		(344,715	)		(24,142	)		(231,985	)		100,881
Income tax expense (benefit)		(57,552	)		(723	)		(46,005	)		15,603
Net income (loss)		(287,163	)		(23,419	)		(185,980	)		85,278
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries		27,226			13,552			62,966			32,797
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests in legacy Greenspring entities⁽¹⁾		1,167			(2,222	)		(4,119	)		(9,054	)
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests in the Partnership		(134,760	)		(20,111	)		(107,856	)		22,677
Less: Net income attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds		10,905			5,588			23,101			11,590
Less: Net income attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests in subsidiaries		314			—			983			—
Net income (loss) attributable to StepStone Group Inc.	$	(192,015	)	$	(20,226	)	$	(161,055	)	$	27,268
Net income (loss) per share of Class A common stock:
Basic	$	(2.61	)	$	(0.32	)	$	(2.32	)	$	0.43
Diluted	$	(2.61	)	$	(0.32	)	$	(2.32	)	$	0.43
Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock:
Basic		73,687,289			64,068,952			69,561,254			63,255,604
Diluted		73,687,289			64,068,952			69,561,254			66,299,982

(1) Reflects amounts attributable to consolidated VIEs for which the Company did not acquire any direct economic interests.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: Definitions and Reconciliations

Adjusted Management and Advisory Fees, Net

The following table presents the components of adjusted management and advisory fees, net. We believe adjusted management and advisory fees, net is useful to investors because it removes the impact of consolidating the Consolidated Funds which we are required to consolidate under GAAP.

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024			2023		2024
Focused commingled funds⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	$	78,633	$	80,434	$	104,798	$	107,855	$	105,718	$	216,233	$	318,371
Separately managed accounts		55,838		55,945		57,376		61,393		66,245		168,013		185,014
Advisory and other services		16,069		16,147		14,769		14,907		17,458		43,910		47,134
Fund reimbursement revenues⁽¹⁾		1,403		1,282		1,571		1,326		2,411		4,415		5,308
Adjusted management and advisory fees, net	$	151,943	$	153,808	$	178,514	$	185,481	$	191,832	$	432,571	$	555,827

_______________________________
(1) Reflects the add-back of management and advisory fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds, which have been eliminated in consolidation.
(2) Includes income-based incentive fees of $2.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, $1.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, $0.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, and $4.6 million and $0.6 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, from certain funds.

Adjusted Revenues

Adjusted revenues represents the components of revenues used in the determination of ANI and comprise adjusted management and advisory fees, net, adjusted incentive fees (including the deferred portion) and realized carried interest allocations. We believe adjusted revenues is useful to investors because it presents a measure of realized revenues.

The table below shows a reconciliation of revenues to adjusted revenues.

	Three Months Ended														Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023		2024
Total revenues	$	(14,612	)	$	356,810		$	186,401	$	271,677		$	339,023		$	354,821	$	797,101
Unrealized carried interest allocations		129,584			(151,757	)		25,170		(52,215	)		(93,325	)		24,849		(120,370	)
Deferred incentive fees		—			1,450			6		2,445			—			942		2,451
Legacy Greenspring carried interest allocations		69,700			(31,093	)		9,089		(13,917	)		(8,207	)		106,250		(13,035	)
Management and advisory fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds⁽¹⁾		451			398			499		723			992			841		2,214
Incentive fees for the Consolidated Funds⁽²⁾		—			1,549			—		75			5,422			—		5,497
Adjusted revenues	$	185,123		$	177,357		$	221,165	$	208,788		$	243,905		$	487,703	$	673,858

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted net income, or “ANI,” is a non-GAAP performance measure that we present before the consolidation of StepStone Funds on a pre-tax and after-tax basis used to evaluate profitability. ANI represents the after-tax net realized income attributable to us. ANI does not reflect legacy Greenspring carried interest allocation revenues, legacy Greenspring carried interest-related compensation and legacy Greenspring investment income (loss) as none of the economics are attributable to us. The components of revenues used in the determination of ANI (“adjusted revenues”) comprise adjusted management and advisory fees, net, adjusted incentive fees (including the deferred portion) and realized carried interest allocations. In addition, ANI excludes: (a) unrealized carried interest allocation revenues and related compensation, (b) unrealized investment income (loss), (c) equity-based compensation for awards granted prior to and in connection with our IPO, profits interests issued by our non-wholly owned subsidiaries, and unrealized mark-to-market changes in the fair value of the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary, (d) amortization of intangibles, (e) net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests in our subsidiaries and realized gains attributable to the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary, (f) charges associated with acquisitions and corporate transactions, and (g) certain other items that we believe are not indicative of our core operating performance (as listed in the table below). ANI is fully taxed at our blended statutory rate. We believe ANI and adjusted revenues are useful to investors because they enable investors to evaluate the performance of our business across reporting periods.

Fee-Related Earnings

Fee-related earnings, or “FRE,” is a non-GAAP performance measure used to monitor our baseline earnings from recurring management and advisory fees. FRE is a component of ANI and comprises adjusted management and advisory fees, net, less adjusted expenses which are operating expenses other than (a) performance fee-related compensation, (b) equity-based compensation for awards granted prior to and in connection with our IPO, profits interests issued by our non-wholly owned subsidiaries, and unrealized mark-to-market changes in the fair value of the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary, (c) amortization of intangibles, (d) charges associated with acquisitions and corporate transactions, and (e) certain other items that we believe are not indicative of our core operating performance (as listed in the table below). FRE is presented before income taxes. We believe FRE is useful to investors because it provides additional insight into the operating profitability of our business and our ability to cover direct base compensation and operating expenses from total fee revenue.

The table below shows a reconciliation of GAAP measures to additional non-GAAP measures. We use the non-GAAP measures presented below as components when calculating FRE and ANI (as defined below). We believe these additional non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in evaluating both the baseline earnings from recurring management and advisory fees, which provide additional insight into the operating profitability of our business, and the after-tax net realized income attributable to us, allowing investors to evaluate the performance of our business. These additional non-GAAP measures remove the impact of Consolidated Funds that we are required to consolidate under GAAP, and certain other items that we believe are not indicative of our core operating performance.

	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023			2024
GAAP management and advisory fees, net	$	151,492		$	153,410		$	178,015		$	184,758		$	190,840		$	431,730		$	553,613
Management and advisory fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds⁽¹⁾		451			398			499			723			992			841			2,214
Adjusted management and advisory fees, net	$	151,943		$	153,808		$	178,514		$	185,481		$	191,832		$	432,571		$	555,827

GAAP incentive fees	$	17,891		$	2,496		$	841		$	3,155		$	22,369		$	22,843		$	26,365
Incentive fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds⁽²⁾		—			1,549			—			75			5,422			—			5,497
Adjusted incentive fees	$	17,891		$	4,045		$	841		$	3,230		$	27,791		$	22,843		$	31,862

GAAP cash-based compensation	$	73,619		$	74,411		$	78,224		$	82,871		$	85,203		$	218,551		$	246,298
Adjustments⁽³⁾		(574	)		(461	)		(428	)		(285	)		339			(1,679	)		(374	)
Adjusted cash-based compensation	$	73,045		$	73,950		$	77,796		$	82,586		$	85,542		$	216,872		$	245,924

GAAP equity-based compensation	$	14,032		$	13,937		$	19,179		$	37,332		$	486,418		$	28,420		$	542,929
Adjustments⁽⁴⁾		(12,610	)		(12,210	)		(16,785	)		(34,947	)		(483,958	)		(24,425	)		(535,690	)
Adjusted equity-based compensation	$	1,422		$	1,727		$	2,394		$	2,385		$	2,460		$	3,995		$	7,239

GAAP general, administrative and other	$	48,001		$	54,310		$	41,011		$	50,061		$	43,130		$	113,007		$	134,202
Adjustments⁽⁵⁾		(21,189	)		(27,079	)		(14,343	)		(21,900	)		(13,418	)		(40,196	)		(49,661	)
Adjusted general, administrative and other	$	26,812		$	27,231		$	26,668		$	28,161		$	29,712		$	72,811		$	84,541

GAAP interest income	$	827		$	1,429		$	2,057		$	3,016		$	2,559		$	2,235		$	7,632
Interest income earned by the Consolidated Funds⁽⁶⁾		(540	)		(612	)		(907	)		(1,363	)		(887	)		(1,033	)		(3,157	)
Adjusted interest income	$	287		$	817		$	1,150		$	1,653		$	1,672		$	1,202		$	4,475

GAAP other income (loss)	$	4,408		$	(1,308	)	$	(351	)	$	1,177		$	(2,452	)	$	3,763		$	(1,626	)
Adjustments⁽⁷⁾		(4,301	)		395			(72	)		(1,082	)		1,883			(4,274	)		729
Adjusted other income (loss)	$	107		$	(913	)	$	(423	)	$	95		$	(569	)	$	(511	)	$	(897	)

______________________________
(1)      Reflects the add-back of management and advisory fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds, which have been eliminated in consolidation.
(2)      Reflects the add-back of incentive fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds, which have been eliminated in consolidation.
(3)      Reflects the removal of compensation paid to certain employees as part of an acquisition earn-out.
(4)      Reflects the removal of equity-based compensation for awards granted prior to and in connection with the IPO, profits interests issued by our non-wholly owned subsidiaries, and unrealized mark-to-market changes in the fair value of the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary.
(5)      Reflects the removal of lease remeasurement adjustments, accelerated depreciation of leasehold improvements for changes in lease terms, amortization of intangibles, transaction-related costs and other non-core operating income and expenses.
(6)      Reflects the removal of interest income earned by the Consolidated Funds.
(7)      Reflects the removal of amounts for Tax Receivable Agreements adjustments recognized as other income (loss), gain associated with amounts received as part of negotiations with a third party related to certain corporate matters, loss on sale of subsidiary and the impact of consolidation of the Consolidated Funds.

The table below shows a reconciliation of income (loss) before income tax to ANI and FRE.

	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023			2024
Income (loss) before income tax	$	(24,142	)		94,515		$	54,842		$	57,888		$	(344,715	)	$	100,881		$	(231,985	)
Net income attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries⁽¹⁾		(15,537	)		(12,822	)		(18,951	)		(17,812	)		(32,765	)		(36,398	)		(69,528	)
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests in legacy Greenspring entities		2,222			33			1,255			4,031			(1,167	)		9,054			4,119
Unrealized carried interest allocations		129,584			(151,757	)		25,170			(52,215	)		(93,325	)		24,849			(120,370	)
Unrealized performance fee-related compensation		(62,243	)		84,014			(10,923	)		27,748			49,670			(9,320	)		66,495
Unrealized investment (income) loss		5,559			(2,280	)		(1,180	)		(430	)		656			1,373			(954	)
Impact of Consolidated Funds		(11,068	)		(4,138	)		(7,731	)		(9,267	)		(6,892	)		(21,938	)		(23,890	)
Deferred incentive fees		—			1,450			6			2,445			—			942			2,451
Equity-based compensation⁽²⁾		12,610			12,210			16,785			34,947			483,958			24,425			535,690
Amortization of intangibles		10,661			10,423			10,250			10,250			10,250			31,983			30,750
Tax Receivable Agreements adjustments through earnings		222			90			—			—			—			222			—
Non-core items⁽³⁾		6,335			16,780			4,137			11,349			2,094			4,785			17,580
Pre-tax ANI		54,203			48,518			73,660			68,934			67,764			130,858			210,358
Income taxes⁽⁴⁾		(12,087	)		(10,802	)		(16,419	)		(15,365	)		(15,105	)		(29,181	)		(46,889	)
ANI		42,116			37,716			57,241			53,569			52,659			101,677			163,469
Income taxes⁽⁴⁾		12,087			10,802			16,419			15,365			15,105			29,181			46,889
Realized carried interest allocations		(15,289	)		(18,054	)		(41,804	)		(17,632	)		(24,282	)		(31,347	)		(83,718	)
Realized performance fee-related compensation⁽⁵⁾		15,444			11,421			20,848			8,767			25,477			26,266			55,092
Realized investment income		(3,508	)		(1,057	)		(1,415	)		(1,621	)		(1,720	)		(5,488	)		(4,756	)
Adjusted incentive fees⁽⁶⁾		(17,891	)		(4,045	)		(841	)		(3,230	)		(27,791	)		(22,843	)		(31,862	)
Deferred incentive fees		—			(1,450	)		(6	)		(2,445	)		—			(942	)		(2,451	)
Adjusted interest income⁽⁶⁾		(287	)		(817	)		(1,150	)		(1,653	)		(1,672	)		(1,202	)		(4,475	)
Interest expense		2,562			2,649			2,990			3,512			3,008			6,682			9,510
Adjusted other (income) loss⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾		(107	)		913			423			(95	)		569			511			897
Net income attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries⁽¹⁾		15,537			12,822			18,951			17,812			32,765			36,398			69,528
FRE	$	50,664		$	50,900		$	71,656		$	72,349		$	74,118		$	138,893		$	218,123

_______________________________
(1) Reflects the portion of pre-tax ANI attributable to non-controlling interests in our subsidiaries and realized gains attributable to the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary:

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024			2023		2024
FRE attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries and profits interests	$	10,518	$	11,559	$	13,308	$	14,969	$	21,063	$	30,515	$	49,340
Performance related earnings / other (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries and profits interests		5,019		1,263		5,643		2,843		11,702		5,883		20,188
Net income attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries	$	15,537	$	12,822	$	18,951	$	17,812	$	32,765	$	36,398	$	69,528

The contribution to total FRE attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries and profits interests and performance related earnings / other (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries and profits interests presented above specifically related to the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary is presented below.

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024			2023		2024
FRE attributable to profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary	$	—	$	—	$	574	$	2,051	$	2,956	$	—	$	5,581
Performance related earnings / other (income) loss attributable to profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary		3,074		—		51		206		11,137		3,074		11,394
Amounts attributable to profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary	$	3,074	$	—	$	625	$	2,257	$	14,093	$	3,074	$	16,975

(2) Reflects equity-based compensation for awards granted prior to and in connection with the IPO, profits interests issued by our non-wholly owned subsidiaries, and unrealized mark-to-market changes in the fair value of the profits interests issued in the private wealth subsidiary.
(3) Includes (income) expense related to the following non-core operating income and expenses:

	Three Months Ended												Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024				2023			2024
Transaction costs	$	670		$	3,985	$	672	$	140	$	12		$	870		$	824
Lease remeasurement adjustments		(106	)		—		—		—		—			(106	)		—
Accelerated depreciation of leasehold improvements for changes in lease terms		631			—		—		—		—			1,893			—
Loss on change in fair value for contingent consideration obligation		9,054			12,280		2,953		10,888		2,476			4,937			16,317
Compensation paid to certain employees as part of an acquisition earn-out		574			515		482		321		(394	)		1,679			409
Gain from negotiation of certain corporate matters		(5,300	)		—		—		—		—			(5,300	)		—
Loss on sale of subsidiary		812			—		—		—		—			812			—
Other non-core items		—			—		30		—		—			—			30
Total non-core operating income and expenses	$	6,335		$	16,780	$	4,137	$	11,349	$	2,094		$	4,785		$	17,580

(4) Represents corporate income taxes at a blended statutory rate applied to pre-tax ANI:

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended December 31,
	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024		2023		2024
Federal statutory rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
Combined state, local and foreign rate	1.3	%	1.3	%	1.3	%	1.3	%	1.3	%	1.3	%	1.3	%
Blended statutory rate	22.3	%	22.3	%	22.3	%	22.3	%	22.3	%	22.3	%	22.3	%

(5) Includes carried interest-related compensation expense related to the portion of net carried interest allocation revenue attributable to equity holders of the Company’s consolidated subsidiaries that are not 100% owned:

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024			2023		2024
Realized carried interest-related compensation	$	660	$	910	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	2,849	$	—

(6) Excludes the impact of consolidating the Consolidated Funds.
(7) Excludes amounts for Tax Receivable Agreements adjustments recognized as other income (loss) ($(0.1) million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and $(0.2) million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023), gain associated with amounts received as part of negotiations with a third party related to certain corporate matters ($5.3 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023), and loss on sale of subsidiary ($0.8 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023).

Fee-Related Earnings Margin

FRE margin is a non-GAAP performance measure which is calculated by dividing FRE by adjusted management and advisory fees, net. We believe FRE margin is an important measure of profitability on revenues that are largely recurring by nature. We believe FRE margin is useful to investors because it enables them to better evaluate the operating profitability of our business across periods.

The table below shows a reconciliation of FRE to FRE margin.

	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023			2024
FRE	$	50,664		$	50,900		$	71,656		$	72,349		$	74,118		$	138,893		$	218,123
Adjusted management and advisory fees, net		151,943			153,808			178,514			185,481			191,832			432,571			555,827
FRE margin		33	%		33	%		40	%		39	%		39	%		32	%		39	%

Gross Realized Performance Fees

Gross realized performance fees represents realized carried interest allocations and adjusted incentive fees, including the deferred portion. We believe gross realized performance fees is useful to investors because it presents the total performance fees realized by us.

Net Realized Performance Fees

Net realized performance fees represents gross realized performance fees, less realized performance fee-related compensation. We believe net realized performance fees is useful to investors because it presents the performance fees attributable to us, net of amounts paid to employees as performance fee-related compensation.

The table below shows a reconciliation of total performance fees to gross and net realized performance fees.

	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023			2024
Incentive fees	$	17,891		$	2,496		$	841		$	3,155		$	22,369		$	22,843		$	26,365
Realized carried interest allocations		15,289			18,054			41,804			17,632			24,282			31,347			83,718
Unrealized carried interest allocations		(129,584	)		151,757			(25,170	)		52,215			93,325			(24,849	)		120,370
Legacy Greenspring carried interest allocations		(69,700	)		31,093			(9,089	)		13,917			8,207			(106,250	)		13,035
Total performance fees		(166,104	)		203,400			8,386			86,919			148,183			(76,909	)		243,488
Unrealized carried interest allocations		129,584			(151,757	)		25,170			(52,215	)		(93,325	)		24,849			(120,370	)
Legacy Greenspring carried interest allocations		69,700			(31,093	)		9,089			(13,917	)		(8,207	)		106,250			(13,035	)
Incentive fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds⁽¹⁾		—			1,549			—			75			5,422			—			5,497
Deferred incentive fees		—			1,450			6			2,445			—			942			2,451
Gross realized performance fees		33,180			23,549			42,651			23,307			52,073			55,132			118,031
Realized performance fee-related compensation		(15,444	)		(11,421	)		(20,848	)		(8,767	)		(25,477	)		(26,266	)		(55,092	)
Net realized performance fees	$	17,736		$	12,128		$	21,803		$	14,540		$	26,596		$	28,866		$	62,939

______________________________
(1) Reflects the add-back of incentive fee revenues for the Consolidated Funds, which have been eliminated in consolidation.

Adjusted Weighted-Average Shares and Adjusted Net Income Per Share

ANI per share measures our per-share earnings assuming all Class B units, Class C units and Class D units in the Partnership were exchanged for Class A common stock in SSG, including the dilutive impact of outstanding equity-based awards. ANI per share is calculated as ANI divided by adjusted weighted-average shares outstanding. We believe adjusted weighted-average shares and ANI per share are useful to investors because they enable investors to better evaluate per-share operating performance across reporting periods.

The following table shows a reconciliation of diluted weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding to adjusted weighted-average shares outstanding used in the computation of ANI per share.

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended December 31,
	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024			2023		2024
ANI	$	42,116	$	37,716	$	57,241	$	53,569	$	52,659	$	101,677	$	163,469

Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding – Basic		64,068,952		64,194,859		66,187,754		68,772,051		73,687,289		63,255,604		69,561,254
Assumed vesting of RSUs		333,402		512,946		673,854		921,166		491,014		511,889		695,423
Assumed vesting and exchange of Class B2 units		2,553,899		2,573,762		1,732,153		—		—		2,532,489		573,185
Assumed purchase under ESPP		—		—		—		2,098		—		—		702
Exchange of Class B units in the Partnership⁽¹⁾		46,314,543		46,272,227		45,827,707		45,212,921		41,729,937		46,384,046		44,251,143
Exchange of Class C units in the Partnership⁽¹⁾		1,962,131		1,958,507		1,849,846		1,626,812		1,016,737		2,325,417		1,496,518
Exchange of Class D units in the Partnership⁽¹⁾		—		—		2,239,185		2,239,185		2,010,202		—		2,162,580
Adjusted weighted-average shares		115,232,927		115,512,301		118,510,499		118,774,233		118,935,179		115,009,445		118,740,805

ANI per share	$	0.37	$	0.33	$	0.48	$	0.45	$	0.44	$	0.88	$	1.38

_______________________________
(1) Assumes the full exchange of Class B units, Class C units or Class D units in the Partnership for Class A common stock of SSG pursuant to the Class B Exchange Agreement, Class C Exchange Agreement or Class D Exchange Agreement, respectively.

Key Operating Metrics

We monitor certain operating metrics that are either common to the asset management industry or that we believe provide important data regarding our business. Refer to the Glossary below for a definition of each of these metrics.

Fee-Earning AUM

	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended December 31,						Percentage Change
(in millions)	December 31, 2023			March 31, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2024				2023			2024		vs. FQ3’24
Separately Managed Accounts
Beginning balance	$	56,380		$	56,660		$	58,897		$	60,272		$	62,121		$	55,345		$	58,897		10	%
Contributions⁽¹⁾		1,109			2,757			2,085			1,723			9,033			3,570			12,841		715	%
Distributions⁽²⁾		(1,397	)		(795	)		(830	)		(535	)		(1,000	)		(3,285	)		(2,365	)	(28)	%
Market value, FX and other⁽³⁾		568			275			120			661			(180	)		1,030			601		na
Ending balance	$	56,660		$	58,897		$	60,272		$	62,121		$	69,974		$	56,660		$	69,974		23	%

Focused Commingled Funds
Beginning balance	$	30,905		$	32,772		$	34,961		$	40,084		$	42,294		$	30,086		$	34,961		37	%
Contributions⁽¹⁾		1,898			2,429			5,653			2,122			2,520			3,686			10,295		33	%
Distributions⁽²⁾		(274	)		(327	)		(661	)		(282	)		(682	)		(1,514	)		(1,625	)	149	%
Market value, FX and other⁽³⁾		243			87			131			370			60			514			561		(75)	%
Ending balance	$	32,772		$	34,961		$	40,084		$	42,294		$	44,192		$	32,772		$	44,192		35	%

Total
Beginning balance	$	87,285		$	89,432		$	93,858		$	100,356		$	104,415		$	85,431		$	93,858		20	%
Contributions⁽¹⁾		3,007			5,186			7,738			3,845			11,553			7,256			23,136		284	%
Distributions⁽²⁾		(1,671	)		(1,122	)		(1,491	)		(817	)		(1,682	)		(4,799	)		(3,990	)	1	%
Market value, FX and other⁽³⁾		811			362			251			1,031			(120	)		1,544			1,162		na
Ending balance	$	89,432		$	93,858		$	100,356		$	104,415		$	114,166		$	89,432		$	114,166		28	%

_______________________________
(1)      Contributions consist of new capital commitments that earn fees on committed capital and capital contributions to funds and accounts that earn fees on net invested capital or NAV.
(2)      Distributions consist of returns of capital from funds and accounts that pay fees on net invested capital or NAV and reductions in fee-earning AUM from funds that moved from a committed capital to net invested capital fee basis or from funds and accounts that no longer pay fees.
(3)      Market value, FX and other primarily consist of changes in market value appreciation (depreciation) for funds that pay on NAV and the effect of foreign exchange rate changes on non-U.S. dollar denominated commitments.

Asset Class Summary

	Three Months Ended										Percentage Change
(in millions)	December 31, 2023		March 31, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2024		vs. FQ3’24
FEAUM
Private equity	$	48,258	$	49,869	$	54,855	$	57,136	$	62,811	30	%
Infrastructure		19,789		20,114		20,377		20,986		23,411	18	%
Private debt		15,460		15,477		16,161		16,975		17,882	16	%
Real estate		5,925		8,398		8,963		9,318		10,062	70	%
Total	$	89,432	$	93,858	$	100,356	$	104,415	$	114,166	28	%

Separately managed accounts	$	56,660	$	58,897	$	60,272	$	62,121	$	69,974	23	%
Focused commingled funds		32,772		34,961		40,084		42,294		44,192	35	%
Total	$	89,432	$	93,858	$	100,356	$	104,415	$	114,166	28	%

AUM⁽¹⁾
Private equity	$	78,221	$	81,942	$	89,329	$	91,891	$	93,404	19	%
Infrastructure		28,307		30,003		32,756		35,392		36,156	28	%
Private debt		27,782		28,491		30,336		31,854		31,987	15	%
Real estate		14,646		16,201		16,912		16,996		17,665	21	%
Total	$	148,956	$	156,637	$	169,333	$	176,133	$	179,212	20	%

Separately managed accounts	$	88,890	$	93,938	$	103,003	$	107,252	$	109,305	23	%
Focused commingled funds		45,508		48,545		51,682		53,870		55,142	21	%
Advisory AUM		14,558		14,154		14,648		15,011		14,765	1	%
Total	$	148,956	$	156,637	$	169,333	$	176,133	$	179,212	20	%

AUA
Private equity	$	266,246	$	270,350	$	279,909	$	255,125	$	263,420	(1	)%
Infrastructure		57,528		60,339		62,599		62,891		67,100	17	%
Private debt		17,916		21,976		22,280		19,328		19,325	8	%
Real estate		168,802		168,455		166,659		168,519		168,807	—	%
Total	$	510,492	$	521,120	$	531,447	$	505,863	$	518,652	2	%

Total capital responsibility⁽²⁾	$	659,448	$	677,757	$	700,780	$	681,996	$	697,864	6	%

_____________________________
Note: Amounts may not sum to total due to rounding. AUM/AUA reflects final data for the prior period, adjusted for net new client account activity through the period presented, and does not include post-period investment valuation or cash activity. Net asset value (“NAV”) data for underlying investments is as of the prior period, as reported by underlying managers up to the business day occurring on or after 100 days, or 115 days at the fiscal year-end, following the prior period end. When NAV data is not available by the business day occurring on or after 100 days, or 115 days at the fiscal year-end, following the prior period end, such NAVs are adjusted for cash activity following the last available reported NAV.
(1) Allocation of AUM by asset class is presented by underlying investment asset classification.
(2) Total capital responsibility equals assets under management (AUM) plus assets under advisement (AUA).

Contacts

Shareholder Relations:
Seth Weiss
shareholders@stepstonegroup.com
1-212-351-6106

Media:
Brian Ruby / Chris Gillick / Matt Lettiero, ICR
StepStonePR@icrinc.com
1-203-682-8268

Glossary

Assets under advisement, or “AUA,” consists of client assets for which we do not have full discretion to make investment decisions but play a role in advising the client or monitoring their investments. We generally earn revenue for advisory-related services on a contractual fixed fee basis. Advisory-related services include asset allocation, strategic planning, development of investment policies and guidelines, screening and recommending investments, legal negotiations, monitoring and reporting on investments, and investment manager review and due diligence. Advisory fees vary by client based on the scope of services, investment activity and other factors. Most of our advisory fees are fixed, and therefore, increases or decreases in AUA do not necessarily lead to proportionate changes in revenue. We believe AUA is a useful metric for assessing the relative size of our advisory business.

Our AUA is calculated as the sum of (i) the NAV of client portfolio assets for which we do not have full discretion and (ii) the unfunded commitments of clients to the underlying investments. Our AUA reflects the investment valuations in respect of the underlying investments of our client accounts on a three-month lag, adjusted for new client account activity through the period end. Our AUA does not include post-period investment valuation or cash activity. AUA as of December 31, 2024 reflects final data for the prior period (September 30, 2024), adjusted for net new client account activity through December 31, 2024. NAV data for underlying investments is as of September 30, 2024, as reported by underlying managers up to the business day occurring on or after 100 days following September 30, 2024. When NAV data is not available by the business day occurring on or after 100 days following September 30, 2024, such NAVs are adjusted for cash activity following the last available reported NAV.

Assets under management, or “AUM,” primarily reflects the assets associated with our separately managed accounts (“SMAs”) and focused commingled funds. We classify assets as AUM if we have full discretion over the investment decisions in an account or have responsibility or custody of assets. Although management fees are based on a variety of factors and are not linearly correlated with AUM, we believe AUM is a useful metric for assessing the relative size and scope of our asset management business.

Our AUM is calculated as the sum of (i) the net asset value (“NAV”) of client portfolio assets, including the StepStone Funds and (ii) the unfunded commitments of clients to the underlying investments and the StepStone Funds. Our AUM reflects the investment valuations in respect of the underlying investments of our funds and accounts on a three-month lag, adjusted for new client account activity through the period end. Our AUM does not include post-period investment valuation or cash activity. AUM as of December 31, 2024 reflects final data for the prior period (September 30, 2024), adjusted for net new client account activity through December 31, 2024. NAV data for underlying investments is as of September 30, 2024, as reported by underlying managers up to the business day occurring on or after 100 days following September 30, 2024. When NAV data is not available by the business day occurring on or after 100 days following September 30, 2024, such NAVs are adjusted for cash activity following the last available reported NAV.

Consolidated Funds refer to the StepStone Funds that we are required to consolidate as of the applicable reporting period. We consolidate funds and other entities in which we hold a controlling financial interest.

Consolidated VIEs refer to the variable interest entities that we are required to consolidate as of the applicable reporting period. We consolidate VIEs in which we hold a controlling financial interest.

Fee-earning AUM, or “FEAUM,” reflects the assets from which we earn management fee revenue (i.e., fee basis) and includes assets in our SMAs, focused commingled funds and assets held directly by our clients for which we have fiduciary oversight and are paid fees as the manager of the assets. Our SMAs and focused commingled funds typically pay management fees based on capital commitments, net invested capital and, in certain cases, NAV, depending on the fee terms. Management fees are only marginally affected by market appreciation or depreciation because substantially all of the StepStone Funds pay management fees based on capital commitments or net invested capital. As a result, management fees and FEAUM are not materially affected by changes in market value. We believe FEAUM is a useful metric in order to assess assets forming the basis of our management fee revenue.

Legacy Greenspring entities refers to certain entities for which the Company, indirectly through its subsidiaries, became the sole and/or managing member in connection with the Greenspring acquisition.

SSG refers solely to StepStone Group Inc., a Delaware corporation, and not to any of its subsidiaries.

StepStone Funds refer to SMAs and focused commingled funds of the Company, including acquired Greenspring funds, for which the Partnership or one of its subsidiaries acts as both investment adviser and general partner or managing member.

The Partnership refers solely to StepStone Group LP, a Delaware limited partnership, and not to any of its subsidiaries.

Total capital responsibility equals AUM plus AUA. AUM includes any accounts for which StepStone Group has full discretion over the investment decisions, has responsibility to arrange or effectuate transactions, or has custody of assets. AUA refers to accounts for which StepStone Group provides advice or consultation but for which the firm does not have discretionary authority, responsibility to arrange or effectuate transactions, or custody of assets.

Undeployed fee-earning capital represents the amount of capital commitments to StepStone Funds that has not yet been invested or considered active but will generate management fee revenue once invested or activated. We believe undeployed fee-earning capital is a useful metric for measuring the amount of capital that we can put to work in the future and thus earn management fee revenue thereon.

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025

MIL-OSI: Fortinet Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights

Total revenue of $1.66 billion, up 17% year over year
Product revenue of $574 million, up 18% year over year
Billings of $2.00 billion, up 7% year over year¹
Record GAAP operating margin of 35%
Record Non-GAAP operating margin of 39%¹
Unified SASE ARR²up 28% and Security Operations ARR²up 32%, year over year
Ranked #7 on the Forbes Most Trusted Companies in America 2025 list, the only cybersecurity company in the top 50

Full Year 2024 Highlights

Total revenue of $5.96 billion, up 12% year over year
Service revenue of $4.05 billion, up 20% year over year
Record GAAP operating margin of 30%
Record Non-GAAP operating margin of 35%¹
Remaining performance obligations of $6.42 billion, up 12% year over year
Cash flow from operations of $2.26 billion
Free cash flow of $1.88 billion¹
Exceeded the ‘Rule of 45’ for the fifth consecutive year

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortinet® (Nasdaq: FTNT), a global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024 and full year ended December 31, 2024.

“In the fourth quarter, we successfully balanced growth and profitability as our non-GAAP operating margin increased 720 basis points year-over-year to a company record of 39%, while revenue grew 17%,” said Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fortinet. “We continue to execute our strategy of investing in the high-growth Unified SASE and Security Operations markets, while strengthening our position in Secure Networking. Our customers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of a single-vendor approach to SASE, and we expect to emerge as a leader in this space, being the only company to natively develop all SASE functions within a unified operating system, FortiOS, which seamlessly integrates networking and security capabilities.”

Financial Summary for the Fourth Quarter of 2024

Revenue: Total revenue was $1.66 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 17.3% compared to $1.42 billion for the same quarter of 2023.
Service Revenue: Service revenue was $1.09 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 17.2% compared to $927.0 million for the same quarter of 2023.
Product Revenue: Product revenue was $574.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 17.6% compared to $488.1 million for the same quarter of 2023.
Billings¹: Total billings were $2.00 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 7.4% compared to $1.86 billion for the same quarter of 2023.
Unified SASE ARR²: Unified SASE ARR was $1.12 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 27.9% compared to $875.3 million for the same quarter of 2023.
Security Operations ARR²: Security Operations ARR was $422.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 32.2% compared to $319.6 million for the same quarter of 2023.
GAAP Operating Income and Margin: GAAP operating income was $574.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, representing a GAAP operating margin of 34.6%. GAAP operating income was $385.4 million for the same quarter of 2023, representing a GAAP operating margin of 27.2%.
Non-GAAP Operating Income and Margin¹: Non-GAAP operating income was $650.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 39.2%. Non-GAAP operating income was $453.5 million for the same quarter of 2023, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 32.0%.
GAAP Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share: GAAP net income was $526.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to GAAP net income of $310.9 million for the same quarter of 2023. GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.68 for the fourth quarter of 2024, based on 775.2 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.40 for the same quarter of 2023, based on 772.3 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
Non-GAAP Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share¹: Non-GAAP net income was $571.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to non-GAAP net income of $392.0 million for the same quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.74 for the fourth quarter of 2024, based on 775.2 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $0.51 for the same quarter of 2023, based on 772.3 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
Cash Flow: Cash flow from operations was $477.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $191.7 million for the same quarter of 2023.
Free Cash Flow¹: Free cash flow was $380.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $164.8 million for the same quarter of 2023.

Financial Summary for the Full Year 2024

Revenue: Total revenue was $5.96 billion for 2024, an increase of 12.3% compared to $5.30 billion in 2023.
Service Revenue: Service revenue was $4.05 billion for 2024, an increase of 19.8% compared to $3.38 billion in 2023.
Product Revenue: Product revenue was $1.91 billion for 2024, a decrease of 1.0% compared to $1.93 billion in 2023.
Billings¹: Total billings were $6.53 billion for 2024, an increase of 2.1% compared to $6.40 billion in 2023.
Remaining performance obligations: Remaining performance obligations were $6.42 billion as of December 31, 2024, an increase of 11.7% compared to $5.75 billion as of December 31, 2023.
Deferred Revenue: Total deferred revenue was $6.36 billion as of December 31, 2024, an increase of 10.9% compared to $5.74 billion as of December 31, 2023.
GAAP Operating Income and Margin: GAAP operating income was $1.80 billion for 2024, representing a GAAP operating margin of 30.3%. GAAP operating income was $1.24 billion for 2023, representing a GAAP operating margin of 23.4%.
Non-GAAP Operating Income and Margin¹: Non-GAAP operating income was $2.09 billion for 2024, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 35.0%. Non-GAAP operating income was $1.51 billion for 2023, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 28.4%.
GAAP Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share: GAAP net income was $1.75 billion for 2024, compared to GAAP net income of $1.15 billion for 2023. GAAP diluted net income per share was $2.26 for 2024, based on 771.9 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to GAAP diluted net income per share of $1.46 for 2023, based on 788.2 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
Non-GAAP Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share¹: Non-GAAP net income was $1.83 billion for 2024, compared to non-GAAP net income of $1.29 billion for 2023. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $2.37 for 2024, based on 771.9 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $1.63 for 2023, based on 788.2 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
Cash Flow: Cash flow from operations was $2.26 billion in 2024 compared to $1.94 billion in 2023.
Free Cash Flow¹: Free cash flow was $1.88 billion in 2024, compared to $1.73 billion in 2023.

Guidance

For the first quarter of 2025, Fortinet currently expects:

Revenue in the range of $1.500 billion to $1.560 billion
Billings in the range of $1.520 billion to $1.600 billion
Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 80.0% to 81.0%
Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 30.0% to 31.0%
Diluted non-GAAP net income per share in the range of $0.52 to $0.54, assuming a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 18%. This assumes a diluted share count of 774 million to 780 million.

For the fiscal year 2025, Fortinet currently expects:

Revenue in the range of $6.650 billion to $6.850 billion
Service revenue in the range of $4.575 billion to $4.725 billion
Billings in the range of $7.200 billion to $7.400 billion
Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 79.0% to 81.0%
Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 31.0% to 33.0%
Diluted non-GAAP net income per share in the range of $2.41 to $2.47, assuming a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 18%. This assumes a diluted share count of 773 million to 783 million.

These statements are forward looking and actual results may differ materially. Refer to the Forward-Looking Statements section below for information on the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

Our guidance with respect to non-GAAP financial measures excludes stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, charges in connection with litigation settlement, gain on intellectual property matters, gain on bargain purchase related to acquisition, non-cash charge of impairment on an equity method investment and a tax adjustment required for an effective tax rate on a non-GAAP basis, which differs from the GAAP effective tax rate. We have not reconciled our guidance with respect to non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures because certain items that impact these measures are uncertain or out of our control, or cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures is not available without unreasonable effort.

¹ A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
² ARR is defined as the annualized value of renewable / recurring customer agreements as of the measurement date, assuming any contract that expires during the next 12 months is renewed at its existing value.

Conference Call Details

Fortinet will host a conference call today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss the earnings results. A live webcast of the conference call and supplemental slides will be accessible from the Investor Relations page of Fortinet’s website at https://investor.fortinet.com and a replay will be archived and accessible at https://investor.fortinet.com/events-and-presentations.

First Quarter 2025 Conference Participation Schedule:

Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference
March 4, 2025

Members of Fortinet’s management team are expected to present at this conference and discuss the latest company strategies and initiatives. Fortinet’s conference presentations are expected to be available via webcast on the company’s website. To access the most updated information, pre-register and listen to the webcast of each event, please visit the Investor Presentation & Events page of Fortinet’s website at https://investor.fortinet.com/events-and-presentations. The schedule is subject to change.

About Fortinet (www.fortinet.com)

Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTs”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog or FortiGuard Labs.

Copyright © 2025 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAgent, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAppSec, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCART, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiCNP, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortiDAST, FortiDATA, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevice, FortiDevSec, FortiDLP, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiEndpoint, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex, FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPAM, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiScanner, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSEC, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSRA, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiTIP, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM, FortiXDR and Lacework FortiCNAPP. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

FTNT-F

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding any indications related to future growth and market share gains, our strategy going forward, and guidance and expectations around future financial results, including guidance and expectations for the first quarter of 2025 and full year 2025, and any statements regarding our market opportunity and market size, and business momentum. Although we attempt to be accurate in making forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based such that actual results are materially different from our forward-looking statements in this release. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially from the statements herein include the following: general economic risks, including those caused by economic challenges, a possible economic downturn or recession and the effects of inflation or stagflation, rising interest rates or reduced information technology spending; supply chain challenges; negative impacts from the ongoing war in Ukraine and its related macroeconomic effects and our decision to reduce operations in Russia; competitiveness in the security market; the dynamic nature of the security market and its products and services; specific economic risks worldwide and in different geographies, and among different customer segments; uncertainty regarding demand and increased business and renewals from existing customers; sales execution risks, including risks in connection with the timing and completion of large strategic deals; uncertainties around continued success in sales growth and market share gains; uncertainties in market opportunities and the market size; actual or perceived vulnerabilities in our supply chain, products or services, and any actual or perceived breach of our network or our customers’ networks; longer sales cycles, particularly for larger enterprise, service providers, government and other large organization customers; the effectiveness of our salesforce and failure to convert sales pipeline into final sales; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products and other product functionality risks; risks associated with integrating acquisitions and changes in circumstances and plans associated therewith, including, among other risks, changes in plans related to product and services integrations, product and services plans and sales strategies; sales and marketing execution risks; execution risks around new product development and introductions and innovation; litigation and disputes and the potential cost, distraction and damage to sales and reputation caused thereby or by other factors; cybersecurity threats, breaches and other disruptions; market acceptance of new products and services; the ability to attract and retain personnel; changes in strategy; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organizations; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive, including advances in artificial intelligence; risks associated with the adoption of, and demand for, our products and services in general and by specific customer segments, including those caused by competition and pricing pressure; excess product inventory for any reason, including those caused by the effects of increased inflation and interest rates in certain geographies and the war in Ukraine; risks associated with business disruption caused by natural disasters and health emergencies such as earthquakes, fires, power outages, typhoons, floods, health epidemics and viruses, and by manmade events such as civil unrest, labor disruption, international trade disputes, international conflicts such as the war in Ukraine or tensions between China and Taiwan, terrorism, wars, and critical infrastructure attacks; tariffs, trade disputes and other trade barriers, and negative impact on sales based on geo-political dynamics and disputes and protectionist policies, including the impact of any future shutdowns of the U.S. government and the transition in administrations; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from our investor relations department. All forward-looking statements herein reflect our opinions only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update forward-looking statements herein in light of new information or future events.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We have provided in this release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP financial and liquidity measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. We use these non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing our financial results and believe they are useful to investors, as a supplement to GAAP measures, in evaluating our ongoing operational performance. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial results with peer companies, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors.

Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures provided in the financial statement tables below.

Billings (non-GAAP). We define billings as revenue recognized in accordance with GAAP plus the change in deferred revenue from the beginning to the end of the period less any deferred revenue balances acquired from business combination(s) during the period. We consider billings to be a useful metric for management and investors because billings drive current and future revenue, which is an important indicator of the health and viability of our business. There are a number of limitations related to the use of billings instead of GAAP revenue. First, billings include amounts that have not yet been recognized as revenue and are impacted by the term of security and support agreements. Second, we may calculate billings in a manner that is different from peer companies that report similar financial measures. Management accounts for these limitations by providing specific information regarding GAAP revenue and evaluating billings together with GAAP revenue.

Free cash flow (non-GAAP). We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities minus purchases of property and equipment. We believe free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after capital expenditures, can be used for strategic opportunities, including repurchasing outstanding common stock, investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions and strengthening the balance sheet. A limitation of using free cash flow rather than the GAAP measures of cash provided by or used in operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities is that free cash flow does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash and cash equivalents balance for the period because it excludes investing activities other than capital expenditures and cash flows from financing activities. Management accounts for this limitation by providing information about our capital expenditures and other investing and financing activities on the face of the cash flow statement and under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K and by presenting cash flows from investing and financing activities in our reconciliation of free cash flow. In addition, it is important to note that other companies, including companies in our industry, may not use free cash flow, may calculate free cash flow in a different manner than we do or may use other financial measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of free cash flow as a comparative measure.

Non-GAAP operating income and operating margin. We define non-GAAP operating income as operating income plus stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets and charges in connection with litigation settlement, less gain on intellectual property matter and, when applicable, other significant non-recurring items in a given quarter. Non-GAAP operating margin is defined as non-GAAP operating income divided by GAAP revenue. We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors because they exclude the items noted above so that our management and investors can compare our recurring core business operating results over multiple periods. There are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP operating income instead of operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP. First, non-GAAP operating income excludes the items noted above. Second, the components of the costs that we exclude from our calculation of non-GAAP operating income may differ from the components that peer companies exclude when they report their non-GAAP results of operations. Management accounts for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from non-GAAP operating income and evaluating non-GAAP operating income together with operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP net income and diluted net income per share. We define non-GAAP net income as net income plus the items noted above under non-GAAP operating income and operating margin. In addition, we adjust non-GAAP net income and diluted net income per share for a gain on bargain purchase related to acquisition, a non-cash charge of impairment on an equity method investment and a tax adjustment required for an effective tax rate on a non-GAAP basis, which differs from the GAAP effective tax rate. We define non-GAAP diluted net income per share as non-GAAP net income divided by the non-GAAP diluted weighted-average shares outstanding. We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors for the same reasons that we use non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin. However, in order to provide a more complete picture of our recurring core business operating results, we include in non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share, the tax adjustment required resulting in an effective tax rate on a non-GAAP basis, which often differs from the GAAP tax rate. We believe the non-GAAP effective tax rates we use are reasonable estimates of normalized tax rates for our current and prior fiscal years under our global operating structure. The same limitations described above regarding our use of non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin apply to our use of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share. We account for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share and evaluating non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share together with net income and diluted net income per share calculated in accordance with GAAP.

FORTINET, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited, in millions)

	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	2,875.9		$	1,397.9
Short-term investments		1,126.4			1,021.5
Marketable equity securities		64.2			21.0
Accounts receivable—net		1,463.4			1,402.0
Inventory		315.5			484.8
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		126.1			101.1
Total current assets		5,971.5			4,428.3
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT—NET		1,349.5			1,044.4
DEFERRED CONTRACT COSTS		622.9			605.6
DEFERRED TAX ASSETS		1,335.6			868.8
GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS—NET		350.4			161.8
OTHER ASSETS		133.2			150.0
TOTAL ASSETS	$	9,763.1		$	7,258.9
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable	$	190.9		$	204.3
Accrued liabilities		337.9			423.7
Accrued payroll and compensation		255.7			242.3
Deferred revenue		3,276.2			2,848.7
Total current liabilities		4,060.7			3,719.0
DEFERRED REVENUE		3,084.7			2,886.3
LONG-TERM DEBT		994.3			992.3
OTHER LIABILITIES		129.6			124.7
Total liabilities		8,269.3			7,722.3
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT):
Common stock		0.8			0.8
Additional paid-in capital		1,636.2			1,416.4
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(26.1	)		(18.9	)
Accumulated deficit		(117.1	)		(1,861.7	)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)		1,493.8			(463.4	)
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)	$	9,763.1		$	7,258.9

FORTINET, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)

	Three Months Ended						Year Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
REVENUE:
Product	$	574.0		$	488.1		$	1,908.7		$	1,927.3
Service		1,086.1			927.0			4,047.1			3,377.5
Total revenue		1,660.1			1,415.1			5,955.8			5,304.8
COST OF REVENUE:
Product		178.0			197.2			652.0			763.6
Service		136.5			118.7			505.6			473.6
Total cost of revenue		314.5			315.9			1,157.6			1,237.2
GROSS PROFIT:
Product		396.0			290.9			1,256.7			1,163.7
Service		949.6			808.3			3,541.5			2,903.9
Total gross profit		1,345.6			1,099.2			4,798.2			4,067.6
OPERATING EXPENSES:
Research and development		191.1			152.5			716.8			613.8
Sales and marketing		526.5			507.4			2,044.8			2,006.0
General and administrative		55.1			55.1			237.8			211.3
Gain on intellectual property matter		(1.2	)		(1.2	)		(4.6	)		(4.6	)
Total operating expenses		771.5			713.8			2,994.8			2,826.5
OPERATING INCOME		574.1			385.4			1,803.4			1,241.1
INTEREST INCOME		42.3			30.5			155.2			119.7
INTEREST EXPENSE		(4.9	)		(5.4	)		(20.0	)		(21.0	)
GAIN ON BARGAIN PURCHASE		—			—			106.3			—
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)—NET		6.9			5.1			13.6			(6.1	)
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND LOSS FROM EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS		618.4			415.6			2,058.5			1,333.7
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES		86.7			95.2			283.9			143.8
LOSS FROM EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS		(5.5	)		(9.5	)		(29.4	)		(42.1	)
NET INCOME	$	526.2		$	310.9		$	1,745.2		$	1,147.8
Net income per share:
Basic	$	0.69		$	0.41		$	2.28		$	1.47
Diluted	$	0.68		$	0.40		$	2.26		$	1.46
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Basic		766.5			764.9			764.4			778.6
Diluted		775.2			772.3			771.9			788.2

FORTINET, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited, in millions)

	Year Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income	$	1,745.2		$	1,147.8
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Stock-based compensation		257.9			249.0
Amortization of deferred contract costs		293.7			266.3
Depreciation and amortization		122.8			113.4
Amortization of investment discounts		(48.8	)		(27.7	)
Loss from equity method investments		29.4			42.1
Gain on bargain purchase		(106.3	)		—
Other		(15.2	)		18.5
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of impact of business combinations:
Accounts receivable—net		(45.4	)		(146.4	)
Inventory		131.2			(253.5	)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		(13.7	)		(27.6	)
Deferred contract costs		(311.1	)		(353.5	)
Deferred tax assets		(223.2	)		(301.9	)
Other assets		(11.0	)		17.7
Accounts payable		(10.2	)		(43.1	)
Accrued liabilities		(106.7	)		137.4
Accrued payroll and compensation		—			23.4
Other liabilities		(8.3	)		(21.7	)
Deferred revenue		577.8			1,095.3
Net cash provided by operating activities		2,258.1			1,935.5
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of investments		(1,948.6	)		(1,855.8	)
Sales of investments		0.5			4.0
Maturities of investments		1,891.7			1,414.8
Purchases of property and equipment		(378.9	)		(204.1	)
Purchase of investment in privately held company		—			(8.5	)
Payments made in connection with business combinations, net of cash acquired		(275.5	)		—
Purchases of marketable equity securities		(16.7	)		—
Other		0.1			0.3
Net cash used in investing activities		(727.4	)		(649.3	)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Repurchase and retirement of common stock		(0.6	)		(1,500.5	)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock		63.1			43.8
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards		(100.9	)		(112.5	)
Other		(11.7	)		(1.2	)
Net cash used in financing activities		(50.1	)		(1,570.4	)
EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS		(2.6	)		(0.8	)
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS		1,478.0			(285.0	)
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS—Beginning of year		1,397.9			1,682.9
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS—End of year	$	2,875.9		$	1,397.9

Reconciliations of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures
(Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)

Reconciliation of GAAP operating income to non-GAAP operating income, operating margin, net income and diluted net income per share

	Three Months Ended						Year Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
Reconciliation of non-GAAP operating income:
GAAP operating income	$	574.1		$	385.4		$	1,803.4		$	1,241.1
GAAP operating margin		34.6	%		27.2	%		30.3	%		23.4	%
Add back:
Stock‐based compensation		66.5			64.0			260.2			251.6
Amortization of acquired intangible assets		11.5			5.3			23.1			18.9
Litigation-related matter ^(a)		—			—			3.2			—
Gain on intellectual property matter		(1.2	)		(1.2	)		(4.6	)		(4.6	)
Non‐GAAP operating income	$	650.9		$	453.5		$	2,085.3		$	1,507.0
Non‐GAAP operating margin		39.2	%		32.0	%		35.0	%		28.4	%

Reconciliation of non-GAAP net income:
GAAP net income	$	526.2		$	310.9		$	1,745.2		$	1,147.8
Add back:
Stock‐based compensation		66.5			64.0			260.2			251.6
Amortization of acquired intangible assets		11.5			5.3			23.1			18.9
Litigation-related matter ^(a)		—			—			3.2			—
Gain on intellectual property matter		(1.2	)		(1.2	)		(4.6	)		(4.6	)
Gain on bargain purchase ^(b)		—			—			(106.3	)		—
Tax adjustment ^(c)		(31.5	)		13.0			(95.9	)		(128.1	)
Non-cash charge on equity method investment ^(d)		—			—			8.0			—
Non-GAAP net income	$	571.5		$	392.0		$	1,832.9		$	1,285.6

Non-GAAP net income per share, diluted
Non-GAAP net income	$	571.5		$	392.0		$	1,832.9		$	1,285.6
Non-GAAP shares used in diluted net income per share calculations		775.2			772.3			771.9			788.2
Non-GAAP net income per share, diluted	$	0.74		$	0.51		$	2.37		$	1.63

Reconciliation of non-GAAP net income per share, diluted
GAAP net income per share, diluted	$	0.68		$	0.40		$	2.26		$	1.46
Add back:
Non-GAAP adjustments to net income per share		0.06			0.11			0.11			0.17
Non-GAAP net income per share, diluted	$	0.74		$	0.51		$	2.37		$	1.63

(a) To exclude a $3.2 million adjustment for a litigation settlement in the three months ended September 30, 2024.
(b) To exclude a $106.3 million gain on bargain purchase related to our acquisition of Lacework Inc in the three months ended September 30, 2024.
(c) Non-GAAP financial information is adjusted to an effective tax rate of 17% in the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, on a non-GAAP basis, which differs from the GAAP effective tax rate.
(d) To exclude an $8.0 million non-cash charge of impairment on our equity method investment in Linksys.

Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow

	Three Months Ended						Year Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	477.6		$	191.7		$	2,258.1		$	1,935.5
Less: Purchases of property and equipment		(97.6	)		(26.9	)		(378.9	)		(204.1	)
Free cash flow	$	380.0		$	164.8		$	1,879.2		$	1,731.4
Net cash used in investing activities	$	(79.9	)	$	(71.6	)	$	(727.4	)	$	(649.3	)
Net cash used in financing activities	$	(8.8	)	$	(910.1	)	$	(50.1	)	$	(1,570.4	)

Reconciliation of total revenue to total billings

	Three Months Ended					Year Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023		December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
Total revenue	$	1,660.1		$	1,415.1	$	5,955.8		$	5,304.8
Add: Change in deferred revenue		349.2			449.7		625.9			1,094.7
Less: Deferred revenue balance acquired in business acquisitions		(6.8	)		—		(49.2	)		—
Total billings	$	2,002.5		$	1,864.8	$	6,532.5		$	6,399.5

Investor Contact:	Media Contact:

Aaron Ovadia	Michelle Zimmermann
Fortinet, Inc.	Fortinet, Inc.
408-235-7700	408-235-7700
investors@fortinet.com	pr@fortinet.com

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025

MIL-OSI: NMI Holdings, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results; Announces Additional $250 Million Share Repurchase Authorization

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NMI Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMIH) today reported net income of $86.2 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024, which compares to $92.8 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024 and $83.4 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $86.1 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, which compares to $92.8 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024 and $83.4 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Net income for the full year ended December 31, 2024 was $360.1 million, or $4.43 per diluted share, which compares to $322.1 million, or $3.84 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted net income for the year was $365.6 million, or $4.50 per diluted share, which compares to $322.1 million, or $3.84 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2023. The non-GAAP financial measures adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share are presented in this release to enhance the comparability of financial results between periods. See “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and our reconciliation of such measures to their most comparable GAAP measures, below.

The company also announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized an additional $250 million share repurchase plan effective through December 31, 2027.

Adam Pollitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of National MI, said, “The fourth quarter capped another year of standout success for National MI. In 2024, we delivered strong operating performance, generated significant NIW volume and consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and achieved record financial results and a 17.4% return on equity. We have a strong customer franchise, a talented team driving us forward every day, an exceptionally high-quality book covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions, and a robust balance sheet supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Looking forward, we’re well-positioned to continue delivering differentiated growth, returns and value for our shareholders, and today’s incremental $250 million share repurchase authorization will provide investors with further ability to access value as we continue to perform, grow our earnings and compound book value.”

Selected fourth quarter 2024 highlights include:

Primary insurance-in-force at quarter end was $210.2 billion, compared to $207.5 billion at the end of the third quarter and $197.0 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Net premiums earned were $143.5 million, compared to $143.3 million in the third quarter and $132.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Total revenue was $166.5 million, compared to $166.1 million in the third quarter and $151.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Insurance claims and claim expenses were $17.3 million, compared to $10.3 million in the third quarter and $8.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Loss ratio was 12.0%, compared to 7.2% in the third quarter and 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Underwriting and operating expenses were $31.1 million, compared to $29.2 million in the third quarter and $29.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Expense ratio was 21.7%, compared to 20.3% in the third quarter and 22.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Net income was $86.2 million, compared to $92.8 million in the third quarter and $83.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Diluted EPS was $1.07, compared to $1.15 in the third quarter and $1.01 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Shareholders’ equity was $2.2 billion at quarter end and book value per share was $28.21. Book value per share excluding the impact of net unrealized gains and losses in the investment portfolio was $29.80, up 4% compared to $28.71 in the third quarter and 17% compared to $25.54 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Annualized return on equity for the quarter was 15.6%, compared to 17.5% in the third quarter and 18.0% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
At quarter-end, total PMIERs available assets were $3.1 billion and net risk-based required assets were $1.8 billion.

	Quarter Ended			Quarter Ended			Quarter Ended			*Change*⁽¹⁾		*Change*⁽¹⁾
	*12/31/2024*			*9/30/2024*			*12/31/2023*			*Q/Q*		*Y/Y*
INSURANCE METRICS ($billions)
Primary Insurance-in-Force	$	210.2		$	207.5		$	197.0		1	%	7	%
New Insurance Written – NIW		11.9			12.2			8.9		(2	)%	34	%

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Unaudited, $millions, except per share amounts)
Net Premiums Earned	$	143.5		$	143.3		$	132.9		0	%	8	%
Net Investment Income		22.7			22.5			18.2		1	%	25	%
Insurance Claims and Claim Expenses		17.3			10.3			8.2		67	%	110	%
Underwriting and Operating Expenses		31.1			29.2			29.7		7	%	5	%
Net Income		86.2			92.8			83.4		(7	)%	3	%
Diluted EPS	$	1.07		$	1.15		$	1.01		(7	)%	6	%
Book Value per Share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) ⁽²⁾	$	29.80		$	28.71		$	25.54		4	%	17	%
Loss Ratio		12.0	%		7.2	%		6.2	%
Expense Ratio		21.7	%		20.3	%		22.4	%

(1) Percentages may not be replicated based on the rounded figures presented in the table.
(2) Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) is defined as total shareholders’ equity, excluding the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on our investment portfolio, divided by shares outstanding.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The company will hold a conference call, which will be webcast live today, February 6, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The webcast will be available on the company’s website, www.nationalmi.com, in the “Investor Relations” section. The conference call can also be accessed by dialing (844) 481-2708 in the U.S., or (412) 317-0664 internationally, by referencing NMI Holdings, Inc.

About NMI Holdings, Inc.

NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NMIH), is the parent company of National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI), a U.S.-based, private mortgage insurance company enabling low down payment borrowers to realize home ownership while protecting lenders and investors against losses related to a borrower’s default. To learn more, please visit www.nationalmi.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of the Company in connection therewith may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). The PSLRA provides a “safe harbor” for any forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in or incorporated by reference in this release are forward-looking statements, including any statements about our expectations, outlook, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “predict,” “assume,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “perceive,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “intend” and similar words or phrases. All forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may turn out to be inaccurate and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them. Many risks and uncertainties are inherent in our industry and markets. Others are more specific to our business and operations. Important factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, market and political conditions and policies (including changes in interest rates and inflation) and investment results or other conditions that affect the U.S. housing market or the U.S. markets for home mortgages, mortgage insurance, reinsurance and credit risk transfer markets, including the risk related to geopolitical instability, inflation, an economic downturn (including any decline in home prices) or recession, and their impacts on our business, operations and personnel; changes in the charters, business practices, policies, pricing or priorities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the GSEs), which may include decisions that have the impact of decreasing or discontinuing the use of mortgage insurance as credit enhancement generally, or with first time homebuyers or on very high loan-to-value mortgages; or changes in the direction of housing policy objectives of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), such as the FHFA’s priority to increase the accessibility to and affordability of homeownership for low-and-moderate income borrowers and underrepresented communities; our ability to remain an eligible mortgage insurer under the private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements (“PMIERs”) and other requirements imposed by the GSEs, which they may change at any time; retention of our existing certificates of authority in each state and the District of Columbia (“D.C.”) and our ability to remain a mortgage insurer in good standing in each state and D.C.; our future profitability, liquidity and capital resources; actions of existing competitors, including other private mortgage insurers and government mortgage insurers such as the Federal Housing Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and potential market entry by new competitors or consolidation of existing competitors; adoption of new or changes to existing laws, rules and regulations that impact our business or financial condition directly or the mortgage insurance industry generally or their enforcement and implementation by regulators, including the implementation of the final rules defining and/or concerning “Qualified Mortgage” and “Qualified Residential Mortgage”; U.S. federal tax reform and other potential changes in tax law and their impact on us and our operations; legislative or regulatory changes to the GSEs’ role in the secondary mortgage market or other changes that could affect the residential mortgage industry generally or mortgage insurance industry in particular; potential legal and regulatory claims, investigations, actions, audits or inquiries that could result in adverse judgements, settlements, fines or other reliefs that could require significant expenditures or have other negative effects on our business; our ability to successfully execute and implement our capital plans, including our ability to access the equity, credit and reinsurance markets and to enter into, and receive approval of, reinsurance arrangements on terms and conditions that are acceptable to us, the GSEs and our regulators; lenders, the GSEs, or other market participants seeking alternatives to private mortgage insurance; our ability to implement our business strategy, including our ability to write mortgage insurance on high quality low down payment residential mortgage loans, implement successfully and on a timely basis, complex infrastructure, systems, procedures, and internal controls to support our business and regulatory and reporting requirements of the insurance industry; our ability to attract and retain a diverse customer base, including the largest mortgage originators; failure of risk management or pricing or investment strategies; decrease in the length of time our insurance policies are in force; emergence of unexpected claim and coverage issues, including claims exceeding our reserves or amounts we had expected to experience; potential adverse impacts arising from natural disasters including, with respect to affected areas, a decline in new business, adverse effects on home prices, and an increase in notices of default on insured mortgages; climate risk and efforts to manage or regulate climate risk by government agencies could affect our business and operations; potential adverse impacts arising from the occurrence of any man-made disasters or public health emergencies, including pandemics; the inability of our counter-parties, including third party reinsurers, to meet their obligations to us; failure to maintain, improve and continue to develop necessary information technology systems or the failure of technology providers to perform; effectiveness and security of our information technology systems and digital products and services, including the risks these systems, products or services may fail to operate as expected or planned, or expose us to cybersecurity or third-party risks (including the exposure of our confidential customer and other information); and ability to recruit, train and retain key personnel. These risks and uncertainties also include, but are not limited to, those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” detailed in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as subsequently updated through other reports we file with the SEC. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, which speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, future events or circumstances that occur after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We believe the use of the non-GAAP measures of adjusted income before tax, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted return-on-equity, adjusted expense ratio, adjusted combined ratio and book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) enhances the comparability of our fundamental financial performance between periods, and provides relevant information to investors. These non-GAAP financial measures align with the way the company’s business performance is evaluated by management. These measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as alternatives to GAAP measures of performance. These measures have been presented to increase transparency and enhance the comparability of our fundamental operating trends across periods. Other companies may calculate these measures differently; their measures may not be comparable to those we calculate and present.

Adjusted income before tax is defined as GAAP income before tax, excluding the pre-tax effects of net realized gains or losses from our investment portfolio, periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions, and other infrequent, unusual or non-operating items in the periods in which such items are incurred.

Adjusted net income is defined as GAAP net income, excluding the after-tax effects of net realized gains or losses from our investment portfolio, periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions, and other infrequent, unusual or non-operating items in the periods in which such items are incurred. Adjustments to components of pre-tax income are tax effected using the applicable federal statutory tax rate for the respective periods.

Adjusted diluted EPS is defined as adjusted net income divided by adjusted weighted average diluted shares outstanding. Adjusted weighted average diluted shares outstanding is defined as weighted average diluted shares outstanding, adjusted for changes in the dilutive effect of non-vested shares that would otherwise have occurred had GAAP net income been calculated in accordance with adjusted net income. There will be no adjustment to weighted average diluted shares outstanding in the periods that non-vested shares are anti-dilutive under GAAP.

Adjusted return on equity is calculated by dividing adjusted net income on an annualized basis by the average shareholders’ equity for the period.

Adjusted expense ratio is defined as GAAP underwriting and operating expenses, excluding the pre-tax effects of periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions, divided by net premiums earned.

Adjusted combined ratio is defined as the total of GAAP underwriting and operating expenses, excluding the pre-tax effects of periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions and insurance claims and claims expenses, divided by net premiums earned.

Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) is defined as total shareholders’ equity, excluding the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on investments, divided by shares outstanding.

Although adjusted income before tax, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted return-on-equity, adjusted expense ratio, adjusted combined ratio and book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) exclude certain items that have occurred in the past and are expected to occur in the future, the excluded items: (1) are not viewed as part of the operating performance of our primary activities; or (2) are impacted by market, economic or regulatory factors and are not necessarily indicative of operating trends, or both. These adjustments, and the reasons for their treatment, are described below.

(1) Net realized investment gains and losses. The recognition of the net realized investment gains or losses can vary significantly across periods as the timing is highly discretionary and is influenced by factors such as market opportunities, tax and capital profile, and overall market cycles that do not reflect our current period operating results.
(2) Capital markets transaction costs. Capital markets transaction costs result from activities that are undertaken to improve our debt profile or enhance our capital position through activities such as debt refinancing and capital markets reinsurance transactions that may vary in their size and timing due to factors such as market opportunities, tax and capital profile, and overall market cycles.
(3) Other infrequent, unusual or non-operating items. Items that are the result of unforeseen or uncommon events, and are not expected to recur with frequency in the future. Identification and exclusion of these items provides clarity about the impact special or rare occurrences may have on our current financial performance. Past adjustments under this category include infrequent, unusual or non-operating adjustments related to severance, restricted stock modification and other expenses incurred in connection with the CEO transition announced in September 2021 and the effects of the release of the valuation allowance recorded against our net federal and certain state net deferred tax assets in 2016 and the re-measurement of our net deferred tax assets in connection with tax reform in 2017. We believe such items are infrequent or non-recurring in nature, and are not indicative of the performance of, or ongoing trends in, our primary operating activities or business.
(4) Net unrealized gains and losses on investments. The recognition of the net unrealized gains or losses on investment can vary significantly across periods and is influenced by factors such as interest rate movement, overall market and economic conditions, and tax and capital profiles. These valuation adjustments may not necessarily result in economic gains or losses and not reflective of ongoing operations.

Investor Contact
Gregory Epps
Manager, Investor Relations and Treasury
Investor.relations@nationalmi.com

Consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (unaudited)	For the three months ended December 31,						For the year ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
	(In Thousands, except for per share data)
Revenues
Net premiums earned	$	143,520		$	132,940		$	564,688		$	510,768
Net investment income		22,718			18,247			85,316			67,512
Net realized investment gains (losses)		33			—			23			(33	)
Other revenues		233			193			944			756
Total revenues		166,504			151,380			650,971			579,003
Expenses
Insurance claims and claim expenses		17,253			8,232			31,544			22,618
Underwriting and operating expenses		31,092			29,716			118,397			110,699
Service expenses		184			185			723			771
Interest expense		7,102			8,066			36,896			32,212
Total expenses		55,631			46,199			187,560			166,300

Income before income taxes		110,873			105,181			463,411			412,703
Income tax expense		24,706			21,768			103,305			90,593
Net income	$	86,167		$	83,413		$	360,106		$	322,110

Earnings per share
Basic	$	1.09		$	1.03		$	4.51		$	3.91
Diluted	$	1.07		$	1.01		$	4.43		$	3.84

Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic		78,997			81,005			79,844			82,407
Diluted		80,623			82,685			81,273			83,854

Loss ratio ⁽¹⁾		12.0	%		6.2	%		5.6	%		4.4	%
Expense ratio ⁽²⁾		21.7	%		22.4	%		21.0	%		21.7	%
Combined ratio ⁽³⁾		33.7	%		28.5	%		26.6	%		26.1	%

Net income	$	86,167		$	83,413		$	360,106		$	322,110
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:
Unrealized (losses) gains in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax (benefit) expense of $(11,374) and $19,580 for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and $3,921 and $17,113 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively		(42,787	)		73,660			15,113			64,380
Reclassification adjustment for realized (gains) losses included in net income, net of tax expense (benefit) of $7 and $0 for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and $0 and $(7) for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively		(26	)		—			—			26
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax		(42,813	)		73,660			15,113			64,406
Comprehensive income	$	43,354		$	157,073		$	375,219		$	386,516

(1) Loss ratio is calculated by dividing insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.
(2) Expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting and operating expenses by net premiums earned.
(3) Combined ratio may not foot due to rounding.

Consolidated balance sheets (unaudited)	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
Assets	(In Thousands, except for share data)
Fixed maturities, available-for-sale, at fair value (amortized cost of $2,876,343 and $2,542,862 as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively)	$	2,723,541		$	2,371,021
Cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash of $90 and $1,338 as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively)		54,308			96,689
Premiums receivable, net		82,804			76,456
Accrued investment income		22,386			19,785
Deferred policy acquisition costs, net		64,327			62,905
Software and equipment, net		25,681			30,252
Intangible assets and goodwill		3,634			3,634
Reinsurance recoverable		32,260			27,514
Prepaid federal income taxes		322,175			235,286
Other assets		18,857			16,965
Total assets	$	3,349,973		$	2,940,507

Liabilities
Debt	$	415,146		$	397,595
Unearned premiums		65,217			92,295
Accounts payable and accrued expenses		103,164			86,189
Reserve for insurance claims and claim expenses		152,071			123,974
Deferred tax liability, net		386,192			301,573
Other liabilities		10,751			12,877
Total liabilities		1,132,541			1,014,503

Shareholders’ equity
Common stock – $0.01 par value; 87,902,626 shares issued and 78,600,726 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and 87,334,138 shares issued and 80,881,280 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2023 (250,000,000 shares authorized)		879			873
Additional paid-in capital		1,004,692			990,816
Treasury stock, at cost: 9,301,900 and 6,452,858 common shares as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively		(246,594	)		(148,921	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax		(124,804	)		(139,917	)
Retained earnings		1,583,259			1,223,153
Total shareholders’ equity		2,217,432			1,926,004
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	3,349,973		$	2,940,507

Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations (unaudited)
	As of and for the three months ended									For the year ended December 31,
	12/31/2024			9/30/2024			12/31/2023				2024			2023
As Reported	(In Thousands, except for per share data)
Revenues
Net premiums earned	$	143,520		$	143,343		$	132,940		$	564,688		$	510,768
Net investment income		22,718			22,474			18,247			85,316			67,512
Net realized investment gains (losses)		33			(10	)		—			23			(33	)
Other revenues		233			285			193			944			756
Total revenues		166,504			166,092			151,380			650,971			579,003
Expenses
Insurance claims and claim expenses		17,253			10,321			8,232			31,544			22,618
Underwriting and operating expenses		31,092			29,160			29,716			118,397			110,699
Service expenses		184			208			185			723			771
Interest expense		7,102			7,076			8,066			36,896			32,212
Total expenses		55,631			46,765			46,199			187,560			166,300

Income before income taxes		110,873			119,327			105,181			463,411			412,703
Income tax expense		24,706			26,517			21,768			103,305			90,593
Net income	$	86,167		$	92,810		$	83,413		$	360,106		$	322,110

Adjustments:
Net realized investment (gains) losses		(33	)		10			—			(23	)		33
Capital markets transaction costs		—			—			—			6,966			—
Adjusted income before taxes		110,840			119,337			105,181			470,354			412,736

Income tax (benefit) expense on adjustments ⁽¹⁾		(7	)		2			—			1,458			7
Adjusted net income	$	86,141		$	92,818		$	83,413		$	365,591		$	322,136

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding		80,623			81,045			82,685			81,273			83,854

Diluted EPS	$	1.07		$	1.15		$	1.01		$	4.43		$	3.84
Adjusted diluted EPS	$	1.07		$	1.15		$	1.01		$	4.50		$	3.84

Return on equity		15.6	%		17.5	%		18.0	%		17.4	%		18.2	%
Adjusted return on equity		15.6	%		17.5	%		18.0	%		17.6	%		18.2	%

Expense ratio ⁽²⁾		21.7	%		20.3	%		22.4	%		21.0	%		21.7	%
Adjusted expense ratio ⁽³⁾		21.7	%		20.3	%		22.4	%		21.0	%		21.7	%

Combined ratio ⁽⁴⁾		33.7	%		27.5	%		28.5	%		26.6	%		26.1	%
Adjusted combined ratio ⁽⁵⁾		33.7	%		27.5	%		28.5	%		26.6	%		26.1	%

Book value per share ⁽⁶⁾	$	28.21		$	27.67		$	23.81
Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) ⁽⁷⁾	$	29.80		$	28.71		$	25.54

(1) Marginal tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments is calculated based on our statutory U.S. federal corporate income tax rate of 21%, except for those items that are not eligible for an income tax deduction.
(2) Expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting and operating expenses by net premiums earned.
(3) Adjusted expense ratio is calculated by dividing adjusted underwriting and operating expense (underwriting and operating expenses excluding costs related to capital markets reinsurance transactions) by net premiums earned.
(4) Combined ratio is calculated by dividing the total of underwriting and operating expenses and insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.
(5) Adjusted combined ratio is calculated by dividing the total of adjusted underwriting and operating expenses (underwriting and operating expenses excluding costs related to capital market reinsurance transaction) and insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.
(6) Book value per share is calculated by dividing total shareholders’ equity by shares outstanding.
(7) Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) is defined as total shareholders’ equity, excluding the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on our investment portfolio, divided by shares outstanding.

Historical Quarterly Data	2024												2023
	December 31			September 30			June 30			March 31			December 31
	(In Thousands, except for per share data)
Revenues
Net premiums earned	$	143,520		$	143,343		$	141,168		$	136,657		$	132,940
Net investment income		22,718			22,474			20,688			19,436			18,247
Net realized investment gains (losses)		33			(10	)		—			—			—
Other revenues		233			285			266			160			193
Total revenues		166,504			166,092			162,122			156,253			151,380
Expenses
Insurance claims and claim expenses		17,253			10,321			276			3,694			8,232
Underwriting and operating expenses		31,092			29,160			28,330			29,815			29,716
Service expenses		184			208			194			137			185
Interest expense		7,102			7,076			14,678			8,040			8,066
Total expenses		55,631			46,765			43,478			41,686			46,199

Income before income taxes		110,873			119,327			118,644			114,567			105,181
Income tax expense		24,706			26,517			26,565			25,517			21,768
Net income	$	86,167		$	92,810		$	92,079		$	89,050		$	83,413

Earnings per share
Basic	$	1.09		$	1.17		$	1.15		$	1.10		$	1.03
Diluted	$	1.07		$	1.15		$	1.13		$	1.08		$	1.01

Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic		78,997			79,549			80,117			80,726			81,005
Diluted		80,623			81,045			81,300			82,099			82,685

Other data
Loss ratio ⁽¹⁾		12.0	%		7.2	%		0.2	%		2.7	%		6.2	%
Expense ratio ⁽²⁾		21.7	%		20.3	%		20.1	%		21.8	%		22.4	%
Combined ratio ⁽³⁾		33.7	%		27.5	%		20.3	%		24.5	%		28.5	%

Portfolio Statistics

The table below highlights trends in our primary portfolio as of the date and for the periods indicated.

Primary portfolio trends	As of and for the three months ended
	December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
	($ Values In Millions, except as noted below)
New insurance written (NIW)	$	11,925		$	12,218		$	12,503		$	9,398		$	8,927
New risk written		3,134			3,245			3,335			2,486			2,354
Insurance-in-force (IIF) ⁽¹⁾		210,183			207,538			203,501			199,373			197,029
Risk-in-force (RIF) ⁽¹⁾		56,113			55,253			53,956			52,610			51,796
Policies in force (count) ⁽¹⁾		659,567			654,374			645,276			635,662			629,690
Average loan size ($ value in thousands) ⁽¹⁾	$	319		$	317		$	315		$	314		$	313
Coverage percentage ⁽²⁾		26.7	%		26.6	%		26.5	%		26.4	%		26.3	%
Loans in default (count) ⁽¹⁾		6,642			5,712			4,904			5,109			5,099
Default rate ⁽¹⁾		1.01	%		0.87	%		0.76	%		0.80	%		0.81	%
Risk-in-force on defaulted loans ⁽¹⁾	$	545		$	468		$	401		$	414		$	408
Average net premium yield ⁽³⁾		0.27	%		0.28	%		0.28	%		0.28	%		0.27	%
Earnings from cancellations	$	0.8		$	0.8		$	1.0		$	0.6		$	1.0
Annual persistency ⁽⁴⁾		84.6	%		85.5	%		85.4	%		85.8	%		86.1	%
Quarterly run-off ⁽⁵⁾		4.5	%		4.0	%		4.2	%		3.6	%		3.4	%

(1) Reported as of the end of the period.
(2) Calculated as end of period RIF divided by end of period IIF.
(3) Calculated as net premiums earned, divided by average primary IIF for the period, annualized.
(4) Defined as the percentage of IIF that remains on our books after a given twelve-month period.
(5) Defined as the percentage of IIF that is no longer on our books after a given three-month period.

NIW, IIF and Premiums

The tables below present primary NIW and primary IIF, as of the dates and for the periods indicated.

Primary NIW	For the three months ended
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
Monthly	$	11,688	$	11,978	$	12,288	$	9,175	$	8,614
Single		237		240		215		223		313
Total	$	11,925	$	12,218	$	12,503	$	9,398	$	8,927

Primary IIF	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
Monthly	$	192,228	$	189,241	$	184,862	$	180,343	$	177,764
Single		17,955		18,297		18,639		19,030		19,265
Total	$	210,183	$	207,538	$	203,501	$	199,373	$	197,029

The following table presents the amounts related to the company’s quota-share reinsurance transactions (the 2016 QSR Transaction, 2018 QSR Transaction, 2020 QSR Transaction, 2021 QSR Transaction, 2022 QSR Transaction, 2022 Seasoned QSR Transaction, 2023 QSR Transaction, and 2024 QSR Transaction and collectively, the QSR Transactions), insurance-linked note transactions (the 2021-1 ILN Transaction, and 2021-2 ILN Transaction and collectively, the ILN Transactions), and traditional reinsurance transactions (the 2022-1 XOL Transaction, 2022-2 XOL Transaction, 2022-3 XOL Transaction, 2023-1 XOL Transaction, 2023-2 XOL Transaction, and 2024 XOL Transaction and collectively, the XOL Transactions) for the periods indicated.

	For the three months ended
	December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
	(In Thousands)
The QSR Transactions
Ceded risk-in-force	$	13,024,200		$	12,968,039		$	12,815,434		$	12,669,207		$	12,626,541
Ceded premiums earned		(41,596	)		(41,761	)		(41,555	)		(41,269	)		(41,218	)
Ceded claims and claim expenses (benefits)		4,075			2,449			(138	)		659			2,447
Ceding commission earned		9,997			10,152			10,222			10,292			9,561
Profit commission		20,149			21,883			24,351			23,407			22,057

The ILN Transactions ⁽¹⁾
Ceded premiums	$	(4,217	)	$	(4,302	)	$	(5,858	)	$	(5,976	)	$	(6,305	)

The XOL Transactions
Ceded premiums	$	(9,969	)	$	(9,760	)	$	(9,403	)	$	(9,223	)	$	(8,302	)

(1) Effective July 25, 2024 and December 27, 2024, NMIC exercised its optional termination rights to terminate and commute its previously outstanding excess-of-loss reinsurance agreements with Oaktown Re III Ltd. and Oaktown Re V Ltd., respectively. In connection with the terminations and commutations, the insurance-linked notes issued by Oaktown Re III Ltd. and Oaktown Re V Ltd. were redeemed in full with a distribution of remaining collateral assets.

The tables below present our total primary NIW by FICO, loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, and purchase/refinance mix for the periods indicated.

Primary NIW by FICO	For the three months ended						For the year ended
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023		December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
>= 760	$	6,508	$	6,615	$	4,564	$	24,808	$	22,995
740-759		2,090		2,057		1,542		8,098		6,769
720-739		1,621		1,529		1,280		5,907		5,484
700-719		890		1,040		816		3,794		2,816
680-699		575		652		568		2,392		1,946
<=679		241		325		157		1,045		463
Total	$	11,925	$	12,218	$	8,927	$	46,044	$	40,473
Weighted average FICO		758		757		755		757		760

Primary NIW by LTV	For the three months ended									For the year ended
	December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2023			December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
95.01% and above	$	1,510		$	1,568		$	990		$	5,908		$	3,713
90.01% to 95.00%		5,370			5,720			4,107			21,149			18,929
85.01% to 90.00%		3,740			3,584			2,947			13,994			13,597
85.00% and below		1,305			1,346			883			4,993			4,234
Total	$	11,925		$	12,218		$	8,927		$	46,044		$	40,473
Weighted average LTV		92.1	%		92.3	%		92.2	%		92.3	%		92.1	%

Primary NIW by purchase/refinance mix	For the three months ended						For the year ended
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023		December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
Purchase	$	10,799	$	11,708	$	8,759	$	43,921	$	39,629
Refinance		1,126		510		168		2,123		844
Total	$	11,925	$	12,218	$	8,927	$	46,044	$	40,473

The table below presents a summary of our primary IIF and RIF by book year as of December 31, 2024.

Primary IIF and RIF	As of December 31, 2024
	IIF		RIF
Book Year	(In Millions)
2024	$	43,560	$	11,552
2023		34,284		9,047
2022		47,598		12,703
2021		50,699		13,634
2020		21,145		5,795
2019 and before		12,897		3,382
Total	$	210,183	$	56,113

The tables below present our total primary IIF and RIF by FICO and LTV, and total primary RIF by loan type as of the dates indicated.

Primary IIF by FICO	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
>= 760	$	105,315	$	103,764	$	98,034
740-759		37,321		36,830		34,829
720-739		29,343		28,930		27,755
700-719		19,766		19,654		18,734
680-699		13,374		13,326		12,867
<=679		5,064		5,034		4,810
Total	$	210,183	$	207,538	$	197,029

Primary RIF by FICO	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
>= 760	$	27,883	$	27,396	$	25,523
740-759		10,006		9,850		9,207
720-739		7,926		7,788		7,387
700-719		5,383		5,337		5,021
680-699		3,615		3,590		3,433
<=679		1,300		1,292		1,225
Total	$	56,113	$	55,253	$	51,796

Primary IIF by LTV	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
95.01% and above	$	23,555	$	22,644	$	19,609
90.01% to 95.00%		103,472		101,872		95,415
85.01% to 90.00%		64,290		63,568		60,348
85.00% and below		18,866		19,454		21,657
Total	$	210,183	$	207,538	$	197,029

Primary RIF by LTV	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
95.01% and above	$	7,345	$	7,054	$	6,062
90.01% to 95.00%		30,563		30,100		28,184
85.01% to 90.00%		15,956		15,777		14,961
85.00% and below		2,249		2,322		2,589
Total	$	56,113	$	55,253	$	51,796

Primary RIF by Loan Type	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023

Fixed	98	%	98	%	98	%
Adjustable rate mortgages:
Less than five years	—		—		—
Five years and longer	2		2		2
Total	100	%	100	%	100	%

The table below presents a summary of the change in total primary IIF during the periods indicated.

Primary IIF	As of and for the three months ended
	December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2023
	(In Millions)
IIF, beginning of period	$	207,538		$	203,501		$	194,781
NIW		11,925			12,218			8,927
Cancellations, principal repayments and other reductions		(9,280	)		(8,181	)		(6,679	)
IIF, end of period	$	210,183		$	207,538		$	197,029

Geographic Dispersion

The following table shows the distribution by state of our primary RIF as of the periods indicated:

Top 10 primary RIF by state	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
California	10.1	%	10.1	%	10.2	%
Texas	8.6		8.7		8.7
Florida	7.3		7.4		7.6
Georgia	4.1		4.1		4.1
Washington	3.9		3.9		4.0
Illinois	3.8		3.9		4.0
Virginia	3.7		3.8		3.9
Pennsylvania	3.4		3.4		3.4
Ohio	3.3		3.2		3.0
North Carolina	3.2		3.1		3.0
Total	51.4	%	51.6	%	51.9	%

The table below presents selected primary portfolio statistics, by book year, as of December 31, 2024.

	As of December 31, 2024
Book year	Original Insurance Written		Remaining Insurance in Force		% Remaining of Original Insurance		Policies Ever in Force	Number of Policies in Force	Number of Loans in Default	# of Claims Paid	Incurred Loss Ratio (Inception to Date)⁽¹⁾		Cumulative Default Rate⁽²⁾		Current Default Rate⁽³⁾
	($ Values in Millions)
2015 and prior	$	16,035	$	885	6	%	67,989	4,903	99	208	2.7	%	0.5	%	2.0	%
2016		21,187		1,498	7	%	83,626	8,076	158	187	1.7	%	0.4	%	2.0	%
2017		21,582		1,867	9	%	85,897	10,577	267	184	1.9	%	0.5	%	2.5	%
2018		27,295		2,433	9	%	104,043	13,152	420	184	2.5	%	0.6	%	3.2	%
2019		45,141		6,214	14	%	148,423	27,442	511	97	2.0	%	0.4	%	1.9	%
2020		62,702		21,145	34	%	186,174	73,926	598	51	1.4	%	0.3	%	0.8	%
2021		85,574		50,699	59	%	257,972	167,892	1,679	74	3.5	%	0.7	%	1.0	%
2022		58,734		47,598	81	%	163,281	138,915	2,002	68	17.9	%	1.3	%	1.4	%
2023		40,473		34,284	85	%	111,994	98,711	725	10	14.4	%	0.7	%	0.7	%
2024		46,044		43,560	95	%	120,747	115,973	183	—	6.2	%	0.2	%	0.2	%
Total	$	424,767	$	210,183			1,330,146	659,567	6,642	1,063

(1) Calculated as total claims incurred (paid and reserved) divided by cumulative premiums earned, net of reinsurance.
(2) Calculated as the sum of the number of claims paid ever to date and number of loans in default divided by policies ever in force.
(3) Calculated as the number of loans in default divided by number of policies in force.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending reserve balances for primary insurance claims and claim expenses:

	For the three months ended December 31,						For the year ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
	(In Thousands)
Beginning balance	$	135,520		$	116,078		$	123,974		$	99,836
Less reinsurance recoverables ⁽¹⁾		(29,214	)		(25,956	)		(27,514	)		(21,587	)
Beginning balance, net of reinsurance recoverables		106,306			90,122			96,460			78,249

Add claims incurred:
Claims and claim expenses incurred:
Current year ⁽²⁾		21,674			17,298			93,206			78,285
Prior years ⁽³⁾		(4,421	)		(9,789	)		(61,662	)		(56,390	)
Total claims and claim expenses incurred ⁽⁴⁾		17,253			7,509			31,544			21,895

Less claims paid:
Claims and claim expenses paid:
Current year ⁽²⁾		458			481			638			600
Prior years ⁽³⁾		3,290			1,181			7,555			3,575
Reinsurance terminations		—			(491	)		—			(491	)
Total claims and claim expenses paid		3,748			1,171			8,193			3,684

Reserve at end of period, net of reinsurance recoverables		119,811			96,460			119,811			96,460
Add reinsurance recoverables ⁽¹⁾		32,260			27,514			32,260			27,514
Ending balance	$	152,071		$	123,974		$	152,071		$	123,974

(1) Related to ceded losses recoverable under the QSR Transactions
(2) Related to insured loans with their most recent defaults occurring in the current year. For example, if a loan defaulted in a prior year and subsequently cured and later re-defaulted in the current year, the default would be included in the current year. Amounts are presented net of reinsurance and included $83.5 million attributed to net case reserves and $8.1 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the year ended December 31, 2024, $70.6 million attributed to net case reserves and $6.3 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the year ended December 31, 2023.
(3) Related to insured loans with defaults occurring in prior years, which have been continuously in default before the start of the current year. Amounts are presented net of reinsurance and included $54.1 million attributed to net case reserves and $6.3 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the year ended December 31, 2024, $50.9 million attributed to net case reserves and $4.5 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the year ended December 31, 2023.
(4) Excludes a $0.7 million termination fee for the year ended December 31, 2023 incurred in connection with the amendment of the 2020 QSR Transaction.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending count of loans in default:

	For the three months ended December 31,				For the year ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2024		2023
Beginning default inventory	5,712		4,594		5,099		4,449
Plus: new defaults	2,742		2,039		8,757		6,758
Less: cures	(1,684	)	(1,458	)	(6,899	)	(5,892	)
Less: claims paid	(108	)	(70	)	(276	)	(199	)
Less: rescission and claims denied	(20	)	(6	)	(39	)	(17	)
Ending default inventory	6,642		5,099		6,642		5,099

The following table provides details of our claims paid, before giving effect to claims ceded under the QSR Transactions, for the periods indicated:

	For the three months ended December 31,						For the year ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
	($ Values In Thousands)
Number of claims paid ⁽¹⁾		108			70			276			199
Total amount paid for claims	$	4,777		$	2,060		$	10,491		$	5,192
Average amount paid per claim	$	44		$	29		$	38		$	26
Severity ⁽²⁾		65	%		64	%		61	%		55	%

(1) Count includes 32 and 88 claims settled without payment during the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, respectively, and 23 and 70 claims settled without payment during the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, respectively.
(2) Severity represents the total amount of claims paid including claim expenses divided by the related RIF on the loan at the time the claim is perfected, and is calculated including claims settled without payment.

The following table shows our average reserve per default, before giving effect to reserves ceded under the QSR Transactions, as of the dates indicated:

Average reserve per default:	As of
	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Thousands)
Case ⁽¹⁾	$	21.0	$	22.4
IBNR ^{(1) (2)}		1.9		1.9
Total	$	22.9	$	24.3

(1) Defined as the gross reserve per insured loan in default.
(2) Amount includes claims adjustment expenses.

The following table provides a comparison of the PMIERs available assets and net risk-based required asset amount as reported by NMIC as of the dates indicated:

	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(In Thousands)
Available assets	$	3,108,211	$	3,006,892	$	2,717,804
Net risk-based required assets		1,828,807		1,735,790		1,516,140

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025

MIL-OSI: Trisura Announces Timing of Fourth Quarter and 2024 Annual Results Release and Earnings Conference Call

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Trisura Group Ltd. (“Trisura” or “Trisura Group”) (TSX: TSU), a leading specialty insurance provider, announces the timing of fourth quarter and annual 2024 results release and earnings conference call.

Trisura will release its fourth quarter and annual 2024 results after market close on Thursday, February 13^th, 2025. The company will host a conference call for analysts and investors on Friday, February 14^th, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. ET. Conference call participants will be David Clare, President and Chief Executive Officer and David Scotland, Chief Financial Officer.

To listen to the call via live audio webcast, please follow the link below:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/mghkbw3a

A replay of the call will be available through the link above.

About Trisura Group

Trisura Group Ltd. is a specialty insurance provider operating in the Surety, Warranty, Corporate Insurance, Program and Fronting business lines of the market. Trisura has investments in wholly owned subsidiaries through which it conducts insurance operations. Those operations are primarily in Canada and the United States. Trisura Group Ltd. is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “TSU”.

Further information is available at https://www.trisura.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information. Details regarding the operations of Trisura Group Ltd. are also set forth in regulatory filings. A copy of the filings may be obtained on Trisura Group’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Name: Bryan Sinclair
Tel: 416 607 2135
Email: bryan.sinclair@trisura.com

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: February 6th, 2025 Heinrich, Moran Introduce Legislation to Create Pathways to Stable Careers, Expand Access to Apprenticeships & Technical Education

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced the Apprenticeship Pathways Act, legislation to create pathways to high-demand careers for high school students by expanding access to apprenticeships and technical education. Heinrich introduced the bill with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).

Apprenticeships and technical education offer a direct path to acquiring in-demand skills, and early exposure to industries can encourage more students to pursue careers in those professions. Expanding apprenticeship programs for high school students can help address workforce shortages and ensure a sustainable workforce pipeline. This legislation particularly focuses on apprenticeship programs for occupations with high need, including the building trades, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, and early childhood education.

“If we want to set the next generation up for success, we need to go all in on expanding access to career-connected learning like apprenticeships as early as high school. By providing students with more preparation and job skills, we will ensure more New Mexicans have the opportunity to access careers in their own communities that they can build their families around, while strengthening New Mexico’s middle class and growing our state’s economy,” said Heinrich.

“Apprenticeships bridge the gap between education and production, providing hands-on learning opportunities that benefit both students and employers in technical fields,” said Moran. “Aligning tech training with industry demands will help meet the workforce needs in Kansas and expand high-paying career opportunities in the IT industry.”

The Apprenticeship Pathways Act would direct the U.S. Secretary of Labor to provide grants to industry intermediaries to develop and establish apprenticeship programs for high school students in the building trades, health care, early childhood education, technology, and manufacturing — based on local, regional, and national workforce trends. This model provides students on-the-job training and instruction, real-world experiences and responsibilities, and inspiring career pathways ahead of their entrance to the workforce.

“Thanks to Senator Heinrich, and this legislation, New Mexico will soon provide pre-apprenticeship opportunities to young people around the state, especially in our underserved communities. Pre-apprenticeship is an essential on-ramp for high schoolers and recent graduates to access in demand, high wage careers. It’s a critical step in making our communities more prosperous,” said Mike May, Director of Workforce Learning for Future Focused Education.

The text of the bill is here.

Heinrich’s Longtime Support for Workforce Training and Apprenticeships:

This week, Heinrich announced $1,350,000 in federal funding that he secured through the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process for the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 412 (U.A. Local 412). The funding will support specialized journeyman training focused on filling jobs created by the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act, including needs specific to semiconductor plants, hospitals, and heat pump installation, service, repair, and maintenance. Through his work on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrich has further supported the U.A. Local 412’s workforce development efforts by securing $1.2 million in the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill.

In October 2024, Heinrich visited U.A. 412’s mobile training unit, which is creating more pathways to in-demand careers in the skilled trades and has already trained dozens of New Mexicans in Española, Taos, Las Vegas, Mora, Raton, and Santa Fe. Heinrich also participated in a training demonstration with U.A. Local 412 leadership and apprentices who are learning skills in the plumbing, pipefitting, and HVAC trades.

The U.A. Local 412 Mobile Training Unit was initially paid for by an Economic Development Administration (EDA) Good Jobs Challenge Grant, as part of a $6.4 million award to the Northern N.M. Workforce Integration Network. The Good Jobs Challenge funds were authorized by the American Rescue Plan, the critical economic recovery legislation that Heinrich was proud to pass in 2021.

Heinrich is continuing to press for passage of Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed bills last year that included an additional $870,000 CDS award that he secured within the Senate Appropriations Committee-passed Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Bill to sustain the U.A. Local 412’s mobile training unit’s operations past the original EDA funding, and to expand its reach to new communities including Grants, Gallup, Silver City, and Zuni Pueblo.

Heinrich has long championed proven workforce training programs like U.A. Local 412’s apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs that are growing the middle class, creating and connecting New Mexicans to high-quality careers they can access in their communities, and continuing New Mexico’s leading role in the clean energy transition that is being built by union workers in the skilled trades.

Last year, Heinrich hosted a “Pro-Worker, Pro-Business Opportunities” roundtable to talk directly with New Mexicans about how federal legislation he helped pass into law, like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Law, is creating careers in high-demand sectors and strengthening New Mexico’s health care, early childhood education, and skilled trades workforce.

In the last Congress, Heinrich introduced the bipartisan Apprenticeship Pathways Act, legislation to create pathways to careers for high school students by expanding access to apprenticeship programs for occupations with high need, including the building trades, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, and early childhood education. Last year, Heinrich also introduced the Pre-Apprenticeships To Hardhats (PATH) Act, legislation to strengthen the pipeline for careers in New Mexico, address rising workforce shortages, and grow the state’s economy through quality pre-apprenticeship programs.

Last Congress, Courtenay Eichhorst, Business Manager of U.A. Local 412 and President of New Mexico Building Trades, testified about the importance of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships during a hearing that Heinrich convened as the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee on “Job Training for the Clean Energy Transition.”

Eichhorst said during that JEC hearing, “In addition to our ‘gold standard’ apprenticeship programs, the UA and other Building Trades’ unions are also increasingly investing in pre-apprenticeship programs that can be designed to help prepare high school students or individuals from underrepresented communities for a career in the trades. These programs help fill the role that used to be filled by the ‘shop classes’ that were found in high schools but have become increasingly rare. Pre-apprenticeship programs also focus on the ‘soft skills’ that are necessary for success in any industry, such as showing up on time and other work etiquette.”

Also in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bills, Heinrich secured $1,200,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for the SMART Local Union No. 49 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee to enhance and expand specialized HVAC apprenticeship training.

Last March, Heinrich introduced the Providing Resources and Opportunities for Health Education and Learning (PRO-HEAL) Act, legislation that will tackle the health care provider shortage in New Mexico and nationwide by expanding pathways to high-quality, in-demand health care careers that medical professionals can access in their communities. Specifically, the PRO-HEAL Act addresses medical provider shortages by incentivizing states and institutions of higher education to expand or create health care provider pipeline programs, particularly in underserved and rural communities. The legislation is inspired by the success of the Combined BA/MD Degree Program at the University of New Mexico, where over 65% of students who have graduated from their program practice medicine in New Mexico.

Heinrich previously introduced the Pathways to Health Careers Act, legislation that reauthorizes and modernizes the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to help address health care shortages in New Mexico and across the country and create pathways to high-quality, in-demand health care careers. The HPOG program has a proven track record of successfully educating workers for jobs in the health care industry, while also providing career coaching, job placement, and a mix of other support services. The Pathways to Health Careers Act would restart and expand the HPOG Program, providing $425 million to make HPOG available nationwide from FY2024 through FY2028 and includes set asides for Tribes and U.S. Territories.

In 2021, Heinrich and Moran introduced the Championing Apprenticeships for New Careers and Employees in Technology (CHANCE in Tech) Act, bipartisan legislation to create earlier pathways to high-paying careers in the information technology (IT) industry. Heinrich previously introduced the bipartisan legislation in 2019 with former U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI: Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 06.02.2025
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Nokia Corporation
Stock Exchange Release
6 February 2025 at 22:30 EET

Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 06.02.2025

Espoo, Finland – On 6 February 2025 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:

Trading venue (MIC Code) Number of shares Weighted average price / share, EUR*

XHEL 1,379,268 4.64

CEUX – –

BATE – –

AQEU – –

TQEX – –

Total 1,379,268 4.64

* Rounded to two decimals

On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million.

Total cost of transactions executed on 6 February 2025 was EUR 6,405,596. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 240,903,874 treasury shares.

Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.

On behalf of Nokia Corporation

BofA Securities Europe SA

About Nokia
At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.

With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

Inquiries:

Nokia Communications
Phone: +358 10 448 4900
Email: press.services@nokia.com
Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications

Nokia Investor Relations
Phone: +358 931 580 507
Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

Attachment
- Daily Report 2025-02-06
The MIL Network –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Lessons learned and challenges ahead for central banks in the Americas

Source: Bank for International Settlements

Introduction

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for attending the first edition of the Chapultepec Conference. The aim of this event is to allow central bank Governors to reflect and share perspectives on the major economic and financial issues facing the Americas. I am sure that today’s meeting will be followed by many others.

Today’s conference has a rich agenda. We started this morning by discussing global financial conditions and digital innovations. After lunch, we will turn to monetary policy.

I will use my time today to give some background to this afternoon’s discussions. I will aim to provide some perspective on the course of monetary policy in the Americas over the past few years. I will then turn to what I see as the key challenges facing central banks in the region in the coming years. My comments will focus on Latin America, although many of the themes have broader relevance.

Latin America’s response to the Covid crisis

Monetary policy developments in recent years have been profoundly shaped by the events of the Covid-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath.

When the pandemic struck in 2020, central banks throughout the world took decisive measures. They lowered interest rates to record lows, offered new liquidity facilities and expanded existing ones. Many central banks also made asset purchases.

For advanced economy central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada, the policy response followed a broadly familiar playbook, although the size of the response was unusually large.

But for many emerging market economy central banks, including those in Latin America, such a strong, countercyclical policy response marked a departure. In past crises, policy had often responded procyclically, not least due to concerns about possible currency depreciation.

Two factors contributed to this different response in Latin America during the pandemic. First, monetary policy frameworks in Latin America had been strengthened over the previous decades. In particular, the autonomy obtained in the 1990s was a rock-solid foundation, without which a countercyclical policy response would not have been possible. Second, the pandemic was a global shock. The fact that central banks worldwide, including the Federal Reserve, were loosening their policy stances no doubt made it easier for central banks in Latin America to follow suit.

While the policy easing at the start of the pandemic was highly synchronous, the tightening in its aftermath was less so. Central banks in Latin America, in particular, were relatively quick to unwind emergency policy settings in response to emerging inflationary pressures in early 2021. In doing so, they drew on the experiences of the 1970s and 1980s, when high inflation and wage-price spirals were prevalent. Monetary policy in advanced economies was, in my view, more heavily influenced by the extended period of below-target inflation that preceded the pandemic.

Early and forceful policy tightening worked. By slowing demand, it contributed directly to lowering inflation. Just as importantly, decisive tightening helped keep long-term inflation expectations anchored. Even when inflation initially rose, the public never lost confidence in central banks’ commitment and ability to bring inflation back to target. In countries with a history of high and volatile inflation, like many in Latin America, this is a clear success. It has helped to prevent a wage-price spiral similar to that experienced during previous episodes. Moreover, unlike in many episodes of the 1980s and 1990s, there was no financial or banking crisis.

The job is not done, however. In much of the Americas, inflation remains above target. And the road back to price stability looks bumpier than it did even six months ago, not least due to heightened policy uncertainty. Over the past few years, central banks were able to draw on their accumulated credibility to limit the rise in inflation and bring it down at relatively little cost to economic activity. But to safeguard their credibility for the future, they have to see the job through and deliver on their mandates.

Challenges ahead

Let me spend the rest of my speech discussing some of the challenges that I believe will affect the conduct of monetary policy in the coming years.

The first challenge is policy uncertainty. Trade policy is the most prominent example. But the future evolution of fiscal policy, regulation and immigration policy is also open to many questions at present. Moreover, the geopolitical backdrop remains in flux.

Such pervasive policy uncertainty will affect central banks in several ways.

Uncertainty itself is likely to weigh on growth. Firms will postpone investment. Households may avoid large purchases. In isolation, these effects would weigh on inflation.

But an uncertain world is also likely to be a more volatile one, particularly for financial markets. Already in recent weeks, we have seen sizeable swings in asset prices, including exchange rates, as market participants struggled to determine how policy settings would evolve, and how to position themselves accordingly. Some of these asset price movements, particularly exchange rate depreciations, could be inflationary.

At some point, of course, many of today’s policy uncertainties are likely to be resolved. Depending on the policies adopted, these choices will have their own consequences for growth and inflation.

The second challenge is high public debt and, in some countries, unsustainable fiscal positions. Public debt was already high in much of the world before the Covid-19 pandemic. It has increased further since then. And the widening of budget deficits at the start of the pandemic has still not been fully unwound.

Loose fiscal policy complicates the task of central banks in several, well known, ways. By contributing to aggregate demand, it adds to inflationary pressures, complicating the return to price stability. By raising doubts about the long-term sustainability of public finances it can increase interest rate risk premia and can lead to currency depreciation, further raising inflation while weighing on growth. In the extreme, an abrupt repricing of public debt could put financial stability at risk, especially in countries where banks and non-bank financial institutions hold large shares of the public debt. But even if these channels are familiar, central banks will still need to navigate the consequences.

The third challenge is international divergence. As I mentioned before, the pandemic was a global shock, leading almost all central banks to ease policy at about the same time. The subsequent inflationary outbreak saw most tighten policy, even if many emerging market economy central banks started to do so ahead of their advanced economy peers.

Going forward, economic conditions, and hence appropriate policy settings, are likely to be less synchronous. In particular, economic growth in the United States has been much stronger than in much of the rest of the world of late. Should this continue, we could see greater variability in policy settings, with flow-on effects to capital flows, exchange rates and global financial conditions.

A fourth, and related, challenge is continued sluggish productivity growth in most countries of the Americas, except the United States. Some factors behind this problem are insufficient investment in infrastructure, education and technology. Many countries face structural inefficiencies, such as rigid labour markets and bureaucratic hurdles, which hinder businesses’ ability to innovate and expand. A retreat from globalisation and widening trade fragmentation could weigh on productivity growth further.

Low productivity growth makes central banks’ lives much harder. In particular, it creates pressure to keep policy settings loose in order to sustain economic growth in the face of weak fundamentals. I don’t need to tell this audience that this policy prescription is all wrong.

Addressing low productivity growth requires structural reforms that make it easier to open a business, compete and invest. Regrettably, structural reforms had been lagging in many economies well before the pandemic. Consolidating fiscal positions and rationalising public expenditure may also free up resources to improve public investment to develop necessary infrastructure and improve human capital. Such policies, of course, lie outside central banks’ toolkit.

The task for central banks

Faced with all of these challenges, many of which are beyond their control, what can central banks do?

A first task is to ensure that at least one key prerequisite for sustained economic growth – price stability – is beyond question. In doing so, they can help remove one potentially destabilising source of policy uncertainty. The history of this region regrettably features many examples of the adverse consequences when the public loses confidence in central banks’ ability and willingness to achieve their mandates. The experience of the Covid pandemic showed us how much better outcomes can be if such confidence is maintained.

That said, the specific policy settings to deliver monetary and financial stability are themselves uncertain. Much will depend upon how policy uncertainty evolves, and on the specific constellation of policies that are ultimately adopted. Appropriate policy settings will also change over time. In the meantime, bouts of market volatility are likely. At such times, central banks may need to act, in a judicious and limited manner, to safeguard market stability.

So central banks will need to remain on their toes, be attuned to recent developments and stand ready to act firmly and decisively when required. While central banks’ ultimate objectives – monetary and financial stability – should be steadfast, commitment to specific policy settings should be avoided. Maintaining flexibility to adjust policy settings rapidly in response to changing circumstances will be at a premium.

Beyond the immediate conjuncture, I believe the time is also opportune for central banks to build on the lessons of the past few years, in order to better prepare themselves for the future. The policy reviews currently being undertaken in a number of economies represent such an opportunity.

In particular, a key lesson that I draw is how quickly and fundamentally seemingly pervasive features of the economic landscape can change. Before the pandemic, there was broad-based agreement that the global economy would face strong deflationary pressures for the foreseeable future. Real rates were expected to remain at historical lows, raising the risk of persistent liquidity traps.

Today it is clear that inflation risks are much more two-sided than we had previously thought. And it is also clear that the general public is much more resentful of even a relatively brief period of high inflation than a prolonged period of modestly below-target inflation. Our policy frameworks should take these lessons into account. But they will also need to be robust to a future that could look very different from even the immediate past. A key reason for the success of many Latin American central banks in navigating the post-pandemic inflation surge was their ability to adapt rapidly in the face of changing circumstances. Such adaptability is a trait to which all policy frameworks aspire.

Let me close with a plea for central bank cooperation. Central banking is not a zero-sum game. Above-target inflation or low growth in one country does not benefit others, but makes their life more difficult. This means there is significant scope for cooperation. It will be much easier to meet the challenges of tomorrow together than alone.

The BIS will be there to support you in this endeavour. The BIS’s mission is to support central banks’ pursuit of monetary and financial stability through international cooperation, and to act as a bank for central banks. The BIS Representative Office for the Americas will continue to promote cooperation among central banks in the Americas and the Caribbean and to link central banks in the region to those in other regions.

MIL OSI Economics –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: WTO issues panel report regarding US duties on fish fillets from Viet Nam

Source: WTO

Headline: WTO issues panel report regarding US duties on fish fillets from Viet Nam

On 17 January, the parties notified the WTO that they had reached a mutually agreed solution to the matters raised in the dispute. In accordance with Article 12.7 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the panel report provides a brief description of the dispute and notes that a solution has been reached.
Summary of key findings

Download in pdf format:
Panel report

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MIL OSI Economics –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Text of the Vice President’s address to the IDAS Probationers of 2022 and 2023 Batches (Excerpts)

Source: Government of India

To be in service of the largest democracy, home to one-sixth of humanity, is divine intervention in your lives.

You are required to handhold rather than generate handicaps. It is very easy to find a lapse, it is very easy to pick up. This procedure requirement has not been thorough, but if your attitude is to see things really at fast track, you must have a solution in mind, and primarily, the solution is immediate hand holding. Things will be amazing.

Let me tell you, being in service of Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity, is a blessing. You may have on account of your credentials occasion to serve in several other areas, and maybe perhaps with larger fiscal gain, but you shall never have the satisfaction that you will have now. Satisfaction to live up to our civilizational ethos of service, satisfaction to nurture our nationalism, satisfaction to serve our motherland, and satisfaction to serve in conditions that is envy of everyone.

All your life you will be in close contact with nature because defence estates are bountiful, gifted by nature.

Second, you will be living and dealing with a community that is in uniform by and large. You will be dealing with people who are taken to uniform with a resolve to serve the motherland at the cost of making supreme sacrifice. Security of any nation is fundamental. It is said, security is best assured from a position of strength and position of strength is secured by level of preparation and preparation these days, you have to be ahead of times.

You have to think of next-gen equipment in every field and now the situation is so dramatically changed that conventional warfare has taken back seat.

You will have to deal with many strategic challenges generated also by disruptive technologies. Therefore, you will have to keep on learning while your training is well made out, your exposure is remarkable but much of it you will have to self-learn also. Learning never stops but in your service particularly, you have to be always learning because there is paradigm shift when it comes to auditing, budgeting, account handling, effective transparency, accountability.

If you get into a groove and get obsessed, only to find procedural lapses as indicated by the Defence Secretary and do not have a solution in mind. You cannot imagine the kind of damage we make. Of course, it will have cascading impact, a deleterious impact on our preparedness.

You are an ancient guardian of economic discipline. I strongly advocate that there must be meticulous, scrupulous adherence to fiscal prudence, frugality but this should not come at the cost or compromising efficiency and efficiency lies the fiscal utilisation of resources. When resources are allocated and in your case the allocation is indeed 13% to 14% of the budget. If you delay it the Nation suffers.

Given the security clime in our neighborhood, given the challenges we have, and given the challenges that we are living in times where conflagration in any part of the globe, Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Hamas, we were impeccable, and therefore, the level of preparation now has become much beyond what you may be having in your mind.

Good thing is that our nation is getting prepared. It started after a long time with acquisition of Rafale, but now things are on track, backlog is being made up. The Defence Secretary is seat of the matter, so is the CDS and the three Chiefs, but your mindset will be determinative.

While I would say always keep the nation first, have unwavering commitment to the nation, but this cannot be just an idea. You have to fructify that idea day in and day out. If you look around, while it is your ordainment by virtue of being public servants to ensure fiscal discipline, enabling operational efficiency, you also have to look around what as individuals you can do. For example, it is said and it is historical fact established, the morale of the armed forces is determined by the care we have for our veterans. If veterans are in good morale, those who serve on the frontiers or otherwise look up.

You have a deep connect with the veterans, pensioners. There are two connects that you have and I feel very emotively about it because I come from a place called Chittorgarh. I couldn’t get into the uniform on account of my right eye not being well. So, as Rajya Sabha Chairman, I mostly look to the government on the right side, but my heart is on the left side, where the opposition is there. So, you will have to have absolute empathy for pensioners. Never ever create a problem in disbursement of the pension.

I am so happy and delighted and I came to know about it that technological upgradation has resulted in seamless delivery with expedition but still there will be issues and issues are bound to be there. We will never have a system where there will be no issues interdepartmental or with pensioners.

Have empathy, act with them with a sense of devotion. All of them are like parents for you, senior citizens, our veterans. hand-hold them, if they physically interface with you, will go a long way. Not only they will bless you, by word of mouth, a message will permeate all throughout. They are not the people who are retired, they are pensioners. They will never be tired of serving the nation in whatever form they are. This blessed, distinguished, premium category of human resource you will be interacting with.

No one has fancy for people who deal with finance. No one is in love with the auditors. There is an element of fear sometimes but now the mindset must change because Integrity has been generated by and large on account of technology. Much has been plugged in the entire system, most of yours but I would particularly urge, while auditing others, never hesitate to self-audit.

As young boys and girls, you must exemplify by conduct, discipline and decorum, that not only you are different, you are cut out to make a difference and that difference would add up to the nation being different.

There will always be challenges, but I can assure you, law full route of integrity is the safest route. Shortcuts are very tempting; sometimes, they are too tempting to be resisted but when challenges comes, a shortcut, rather than being the shortest distance between two points, turns out to be the longest intractable with headwinds and air pockets. Sometimes, negotiating is never-ending.

Therefore, financial integrity is absolute essence; it is your nectar. Financial integrity once compromised, you lose it forever; you can never repair and therefore, develop a mechanism in life of happiness and satisfaction that do not measure yourself comparing those who are in private sector. The limousine may also look, very attractive to you but if you get into their role you will find your life is much happier more rewarding more satisfying.

The best answer is, ‘I don’t know.’ Never guess, Never fear failure. Never fear that you have lack of knowledge, no one is encyclopedic. There will be people who will tell you, yes, you are nice boy, nice girl. You don’t know, but you are urge to live. You have the courage and conviction to say, I am not ready at the moment, give me a day’s time. Maybe the superior, may at that point of time will not appreciate. But to cover up that fault by something which cannot be tenable. You must not adopt.

As individuals, I will invite you that you must be good citizens of the country while people in our country focus on rights and we have fundamental rights, I would beseech all of you to first carefully go through fundamental duties that are in part 4A of the Constitution. Many people ask me, what individuals can we do? I will here give you some tips.

One, if the Prime Minister initiated a clarion call for ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’, imagine the difference it is making. If everyone takes it seriously, and I include everyone, including a child, then there would be saplings of 1.4 billion. You will be living in a state where you can make your difference. Please do that.

I would want you to take note, get imbibe and practice five civilizational values.

One, strengthening of family ties, family values. Being connected with a family. दादा-दादी, नाना-नानी को जब पता लगता है की उनको फ़ोन कर दिया, उनसे बात हो गई| उनको जीवन के अंदर आनंद लेने का एक पल मिल जाता है|

Make it a priority, believe in environmental awareness and sustainable living. These are not words. As individuals you can contribute for it. Embrace indigenous knowledge, स्वेदेशी, economic self-alliance. Be Vocal for Local. I’ll tell you, avoidable imports in this country are huge drain on finance, to the extent of billions of dollars. These avoidable imports are in the shape of shoes, socks, trousers, coat, shirts, carpets, furniture, toys, candles, what not.

Second aspect is that when we engage into use of avoidable foreign items imported into the country, we are depriving our people of work. This small gesture you can do. I’ll be Vocal for Local; I’ll go for indigenous product when it comes for my use. State actors can’t do it. You are a discerning young mind. WTO will come into play. It is very difficult to evolve a policy for that. But if people take to a policy by their habit, a designed habit, inculcated habit, it will make a difference.

Forged in unity and inclusivity amidst mass diversity. For 5,000 years we have had inclusivity, we have had inclusivity, but the challenge to inclusivity was extreme.

Murderers came, invaders came. They ravaged our culture, our religious places. We stood our ground but time has come now to keep nation’s interest always first, fostering unity, foster the brotherhood, and that is required because if you find someone not subscribing to our values, not believing in the nation. You must have capacity to effect change of mindset, and if not, make your presence felt. The nation first has to be there.

Everyone has civic duties to perform. I have noticed myself, no Indian who left India for abroad, threw a banana skin out of a running vehicle. No one has done it, and landing here back, सड़क तो हमारी है, हमारा garbage है, फेकेंगे but Prime Minister gave a call Swachh Bharat.

Now people don’t do it. Look at it. If we become a disciplined nation, things will be different. You youngsters must know our history. You are lucky to be living at a time when India is the fastest growing economy in the world. No nation has witnessed the kind of exponential economic upsurge, infrastructure growth, deep digitization, technological penetration, and facilities unheard of in the villages. Cooking gas, toilet, internet, road connectivity. Light in the house, pipe water is on the way, no one thought of it. So we are a nation full of hope and possibility.

In that nation you have the privileged honour to be public servants, but comes along with this another challenge that the nation is most aspirational. People have tasted development. Therefore, your duty you must always ensure before you leave the office. There should be no avoidable pendency on your table. If you make it your Dharma, it will take you a long way.

The armed forces are counting on you, the future generations are counting on you. My best wishes for all your future endeavors and always be positive. Shed negativity in the process if you can spare time to read our scriptures, Vedas, Gita, Epics, Ramayan, Mahabharata. I am not getting religious, I am saying they define sublimity of secularism.

Thank you so much.

****

JK/RC/SM

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HKETO Jakarta celebrates Year of Snake in Brunei

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

HKETO Jakarta celebrates Year of Snake in Brunei
HKETO Jakarta celebrates Year of Snake in Brunei
************************************************

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta (HKETO Jakarta) hosted a Chinese New Year dinner in Brunei, today (February 6) to celebrate the Year of the Snake. Some 130 guests from the local government, business, academic, cultural and media sectors attended the event. In her welcome speech, the Director-General of the HKETO Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng, said that commercial and people-to-people ties between Hong Kong and Brunei continued to be robust. Bilateral trade in goods amounted to US$67 million in 2023, representing an annual average growth of over 11 per cent since 2019. High-level exchanges also remained active. “Our shared common law legacy has laid a solid foundation for legal co-operation. During his visit to Brunei in September 2024, the Secretary for Justice met with leaders of the legal sector to advance collaboration on dispute avoidance and resolution pursuant to the Memorandum of Cooperation signed earlier. With the establishment of the Hong Kong Legal International Talents Training Academy in November 2024, we welcome legal talent from Belt and Road countries including Brunei to leverage this platform for deepening exchanges with Hong Kong and other jurisdictions.” Miss Cheng also introduced measures under the 2024 Policy Address for strengthening people-to-people connection between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), such as cultivating a Muslim-friendly tourism environment and providing self-service immigration clearance for invited persons from ASEAN countries. “We will continue to maintain close liaison with ASEAN countries including Brunei to facilitate bilateral flow of our peoples.” Dignitaries attending the dinner included the Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Brunei, Mr Wang Haitao; the former Consul-General of Brunei in Hong Kong, Mrs Ainatol ZahayuMohammad; and the Director of Malaysia of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Ms Hoh Jee Eng. Also joining the event were the President of the Law Society of Brunei Darussalam, Haji Muhammad Zainidi bin Haji Abdul Hamid; the Secretary General of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Brunei Darussalam, Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Saim;the President of the Hong Kong-Malaysia Business Association, Dato’ Dixon Chew; and senior representatives from other major local business chambers. The HKETO Jakarta will continue to host events in the ASEAN countries under its purview to celebrate Chinese New Year in the coming weeks.

Ends/Thursday, February 6, 2025Issued at HKT 20:51

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Exhibition on implementation of important schemes run by Rural Development Department, Government of India and Rural Development Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh in Maha Kumbh Mela area
Source: Government of India

Exhibition on implementation of important schemes run by Rural Development Department, Government of India and Rural Development Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh in Maha Kumbh Mela area

An effort has been made to bring to reality the resolution of every family having their own permanent house in the changing face of housing in rural areas through the model houses

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana demonstrated improvement in rural connectivity by connecting rural habitations

Posted On: 06 FEB 2025 5:38PM by PIB Delhi

In the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela an effort has been made to showcase the implementation of the schemes run by the Rural Development Departments of the Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh. To depict the changing environment of the rural areas, an exhibition has been set up at sector 7 of the Mahakumbh mela on various schemes that are being implemented effectively to change the face of rural India.

Important schemes among them are:
1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
2. National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)
3. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural)
4. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
5. Integrated Watershed Management System
6. Swachh Bharat Mission-Rural
The changing face of the rural areas has been demonstrated through the works done under the MNREGA scheme such as construction of Amrit-Sarovar, soak pit, rooftop rain water harvesting, construction of internal streets and drains, tree plantation and construction of memorial gardens, cattle shed, vermicompost and NADEP, construction of Panchayat Bhawan, construction of nutrition production unit, Prerna canteen, Annapurna ration shop and construction of playground and other works. An attempt has been made to realise the concept of Gram Swaraj by adopting a transparent system of schemes operated through social audit.

The National Rural Livelihood Mission aims to reduce rural poverty, provide sustainable livelihood opportunities, women empowerment and accelerate financial inclusion. Through Saras Haat, a better platform has been provided for branding, promotion and marketing of the products of groups from different districts and the sisters of the self-help groups so that their livelihood can be enhanced through promotion and sale of their products. Through activities related to BC Sakhi, Drone Sakhi etc., an attempt has been made to demonstrate the economic upliftment in the lives of women and the change in social status, thereby realizing the concept of empowered village and empowered India.

Through the model houses of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) and Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana (Rural), an attempt has been made to show case the changing face of housing in rural areas and the resolve of the Central Government and the State Government to provide every family with their own permanent house.

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has shown remarkable impact in rural areas by providing all-weather road connectivity to settlements with a population of over 250.

The Rural Development Departments of the Government of India and Uttar Pradesh have demonstrated their key role in implementing schemes through the Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) model. This was further highlighted at Mahakumbh-2025, where models and exhibitions showcased the socio-economic impact of their schemes on rural areas.

Mahakumbh-2025 organized at the holy place Prayagraj is a wonderful confluence of unity in diversity with its religious, spiritual, cultural, rural and urban aura. Most of the population of the country lives in rural areas, that is why India is called a country of villages. The schemes of Rural Development Departments of the Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh playing an important role in the socio-economic and structural development of the village.

*******

MG/KSR

(Release ID: 2100350) Visitor Counter : 73

Read this release in: Hindi

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: $39.5M in counterfeit sports merchandise seized ahead of Super Bowl LIX
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

NEW ORLEANS — In a joint press conference with the National Football League (NFL), the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), led by Director Ivan J. Arvelo, announced the seizure of $39.5 million in counterfeit sports merchandise through Operation Team Player. This year-long, collaborative initiative between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and major sports leagues aims to prevent counterfeit sports-related merchandise and apparel from reaching fans ahead of high-profile sporting events.

In total, more than 214,507 counterfeit items were seized, including jerseys, t-shirts, hats, jewelry, and various other memorabilia. Since its launch in 2013, Operation Team Player has seized more than $455 million in counterfeit sports merchandise and apparel, making it the largest anti-counterfeiting initiative within the federal government.

“With the rise of e-commerce, it has become incredibly easy for criminals to create fake websites, online marketplaces, and social media ads offering deceptive deals with the sole intention of scamming sports fans,” said Arvelo. “That’s why our partnership with sports leagues, such as the NFL, is critical in our efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeit merchandise and help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.”

“As we prepare for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, it is important to remember that the success of the game depends on so many crucial partners and vital stakeholders. The NFL is extremely grateful for its long partnership with the IPR Center, HSI, CBP and New Orleans law enforcement, and all that they do to protect NFL fans,” said Dolores DiBella, NFL Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs. “The continued success of Operation Team Player would not be possible without their tireless efforts and ongoing commitment to protecting NFL fans from counterfeit crimes both on the ground and online.”

“At CBP, we’re not just fans of the game — we’re also here to protect the fans, businesses, and communities that make this event so special. One of the ways we do this is by tackling an issue many consumers don’t realize has an enormous impact: counterfeit goods. Fake jerseys and hats might seem like a good deal, but they can come with serious risks,” said AnneMarie Highsmith, Executive Associate Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade.

“Leading up to and during the game, members of the New Orleans Police Department will be teamed up with agents from the city’s Department of Revenue, the Department of Homeland Security and NFL members, to identify and address illegal vendors and the sale of counterfeit merchandise,” said Lt. Kenny Temple, New Orleans Police Department.

“Excitement is growing ahead of the big game in New Orleans on Sunday. But if you’re looking to be in that number — and buy tickets to the Super Bowl LIX, you’ve got to do your homework first. Sadly, many con artists will be working overtime this week to prey on innocent people looking to attend the game,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.

While many mistakenly believe that counterfeiting only affects large corporations, the reality is that purchasing fake merchandise has real consequences such as identify theft or financial loss. In response, the IPR Center launched the ‘True Fans Keep It Real’ campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeit goods and provide sports fans with helpful tips to shop smart and spot counterfeit merchandise both online and in person.

“Our goal is to arm consumers with the knowledge to avoid purchasing counterfeit items in the first place,” Arvelo added.

To help fans stay safe from counterfeit products, the IPR Center and the NFL recommend the following tips when making purchases:
- Stick to trusted retail locations.
- Be cautious when shopping online. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Criminals often use legitimate product photos while selling fraudulent items.
- Use caution before purchasing expensive items from unfamiliar online sellers. Shop from authorized dealers with a reputation for quality merchandise to ensure a safe transaction and responsible customer service.
- Look for signs of poor quality, such as sloppy stitching, missing security labels, or irregular markings on apparel.
- Check your online bank statements regularly. Keep a record of purchases and confirmation pages and compare them to your bank statements. If discrepancies arise, report them immediately.
- Purchase event tickets only from trusted sources, such as the NFL Ticket Exchange by Ticketmaster, On Location, or other reputable ticket retailers. This year, Super Bowl LIX will be entirely digital, and no paper tickets will be accepted. Screenshots or PDFs of tickets will not be valid for entry.
For more information about Operation Team Player or to learn more about the “True Fans Keep It Real” campaign, visit Operation Team Player — IPRCenter.

About the IPR Center

For more than two decades, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) has led the effort in the government’s response to combat global intellectual property theft and enforce trade laws. Comprised of federal agencies, international law enforcement, academia, private sector partners, and industry experts, the IPR Center develops initiatives, coordinates enforcement actions, shares information related to intellectual property theft and trade fraud related to the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods. The center was established addresses the theft of innovation that threatens economic stability and places the public’s health and safety at risk.

MIL OSI USA News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Hell’s Kitchen Aesthetician Arrested For Unlawfully Injecting Counterfeit Botox

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

Joey Grant Luther Allegedly Purchased and Imported Counterfeit Botox From China and Administered Drugs to Clients at His Hell’s Kitchen Medical Spa Without a License

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging JOEY GRANT LUTHER with wire fraud, smuggling, and other crimes related to misbranded and counterfeit drugs. As alleged in the Complaint, from in or about April 2023 through at least in or about July 2024, LUTHER shipped counterfeit drugs, including counterfeit Botox, from countries in Asia, including China, and injected them, without the required license, into his clients at his medical spa, JGL Aesthetics. None of the counterfeit Botox that LUTHER injected was approved for sale or dispensing in the U.S. by the FDA. LUTHER was arrested this morning and will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, Joey Grant Luther, who does not possess the licensing required by New York State to perform injections of Botox, knowingly purchased counterfeit Botox from China, injected it into his clients, and represented that the counterfeit Botox that he was peddling was genuine. Luther continued to purchase and inject the counterfeit Botox even after he learned that clients had fallen ill or experienced strange symptoms after Luther injected them. Luther’s disregard for the health of his clients put all of his victims in harm’s way and, in some cases, caused life-threating injuries. Luther will now face criminal charges for this conduct.”

As alleged in the Complaint:[1]

From at least in or about January 2021 through at least in or about July 2024, LUTHER ran a medical spa called JGL Aesthetics in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. In or about September 2021, an individual (“Victim-1”) went to JGL Aesthetics to receive Botox treatments to treat excessive sweating as well as fine lines on her face. Victim-1 learned that LUTHER performed Botox injections from a friend. Between in or about September 2021 and in or about February 2024, LUTHER injected counterfeit drugs labeled as Botox® 150 Units manufactured by Allergan into Victim-1’s armpit, forehead, and face on approximately eight occasions. Victim-1 never provided LUTHER with a prescription to receive Botox injections.

On or about February 27, 2024, LUTHER injected Counterfeit Botox into Victim-1’s armpits and eyebrow area at JGL Aesthetics. Approximately three days after Victim-1’s February 27, 2024, visit to JGL Aesthetics, Victim-1 began experiencing double vision, light headedness, difficulty swallowing and chewing, heart palpitations, and slurring of speech. Victim-1 also could not lift her arms and experienced weakness from the waist up. Victim-1 went to three hospitals to seek medical assistance for these symptoms. On or about March 20, 2024, Victim-1 was diagnosed with Botulism toxin.

From between in or about April 2023 and in or about January 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”) seized parcels intended for JGL Aesthetics, including one which lists a return address in Hong Kong. These parcels contained significant quantities of counterfeit drugs, including Counterfeit Botox. Below is a photo of the contents of the parcel—including the exterior of cartons of Counterfeit Botox.

From at least in or about March 2024 through at least in or about April 2024, during which time LUTHER negotiated an additional purchase of Counterfeit Botox from one of his suppliers, multiple individuals who received injections of Counterfeit Botox from LUTHER messaged LUTHER about the negative side effects from the injections, including lazy eyes, double vision, and drooping eyelids. In response to these complaints, LUTHER typically assured his clients that the side effects were temporary, represented that he was unaware that counterfeit Botox had been found circulating in the U.S., and assured clients that the Counterfeit Botox was from Allergan, the veritable maker. As alleged, LUTHER was well aware that the Counterfeit Botox was, in fact, counterfeit.

Neither CBP’s seizure of packages intended for LUTHER, the defendant, nor his clients informing LUTHER of injuries related to his injecting Counterfeit Botox stopped LUTHER from continuing to procure the Counterfeit Botox and injecting it into his clients. Between March 13, 2024—the date that Victim-1 contacted LUTHER about the injections of Counterfeit Botox—and October 2, 2024—after law enforcement officers and special agents executed a search warrant of JGL Aesthetics, JGL Aesthetics had at least approximately 700 appointments logged in its client and service management application that were coded with having provided Botox-related services. Data contained in the client and services management application also revealed that JGL Aesthetics provided Botox-related services as early as January 2021.

* * *

LUTHER, 54, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of dispensing of a misbranded drug while held for sale, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison; one count of holding counterfeit drugs for sale and for dispensing, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of receiving misbranded drugs in interstate commerce and delivery or proffered delivery thereof, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison; and one count of smuggling, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The minimum and maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the CBP – New York Field Office, and the Special Agents and Task Force Officers assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon C. Thompson is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: “SARAT (Search and Rescue Aid Tool) Version 2 Enhances Search-and-Rescue Efficiency of Indian search and rescue agencies,” says Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh
Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 06 FEB 2025 5:19PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh states that the latest version 2 of Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT)offers Indian search and rescue agencies improved efficiency, faster response times, and higher success rates in search-and rescue operationswhile replying to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha.

According to the written reply, several significant improvements have been implemented in the latest version 2 of Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT). The key improvements are:
1. More Accurate Search Areas: The computation of probable search region is now directly anchored to the Last Known Position (LKP) of the object as opposed to the point with the minimum longitude in the search area in the earlier version. This enhancement ensures that the starting point for defining the search area is aligned precisely and more accurate.
1. Exportable Search Data and Enhanced Visualization: The tool now provides the search areas in digital format, enabling seamless integration with rescue planning maps. Additionally, SARAT version 2 features visualization of individual and mean particle trajectories, finer and distinct color-coded search regions, and a marker identifying the LKP, all improving the clarity of visual outputs and their interpretation.
With these enhancements, the tool now offers Indian search and rescue agencies improved efficiency, faster response times, and higher success rates in search-andrescue operations within the Indian Ocean region.

To ensure the effective utilization of the updated SARAT tool, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has undertaken targeted training and capacity-building initiatives for personnel from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and other Search-and-Rescue (SAR) agencies. INCOIS has organized online national workshop to train officers from the ICG and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on both the theoretical concepts and practical applications of the updated SARAT tool. This workshop successfully trained over 60 officers, equipping them with the knowledge and skills required to leverage the tool effectively in SAR operations.

Additionally, INCOIS scientists regularly deliver lectures and demonstrations on the utility and operational aspects of SARAT at SAR workshops conducted by theICG and AAI. These sessions also serve as a platform to gather valuable feedback from stakeholders, which is used to refine and enhance the tool further. Through these efforts, INCOIS ensures that SAR agencies are well-prepared to utilize SARAT to its full potential, contributing to improved search-and-rescue outcomes in the Indian Ocean region.

The Minister for earth Sciences Dr. Singh shared that Ministry plans to increase the accuracy of the tool by enhancing the accuracies of the surface currents and winds prediction. Further, the enhancement of forecast accuracy will be achieved by assimilating a greater volume of ocean observations with wider spatial coverage into ocean circulation models. To this end, INCOIS is actively advancing ocean modelling and data assimilation techniques.

Additionally, with a particular focus on the Indian coastline, the Ministry plans to utilize High-Frequency (HF) radar measurements of coastal surface currents as they become sufficiently contiguous in space and continuous in time. These measurements will enable the application of statistical correction methods to minimize errors in modelforecasted currents. This integration of radar data will further refine SARAT outputs, ensuring greater precision in delineating probable search areas.

Dr. Jitendra Singh states that the improvements to the SARAT tool is an ongoing process and these continuous efforts will contribute to more effective SAR operations and enhanced marine safety in the Indian Ocean region.

****

NKR/PSM

(Release ID: 2100341) Visitor Counter : 8

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – EU measures on customs controls and duties for online purchases of low-cost and low-quality products from China – E-002053/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament

The large volume of parcels sent to EU consumers via e-commerce platforms from third countries presents challenges in ensuring compliance with EU consumer protection and product safety rules.

The Commission is committed to enhancing cooperation with Member States to enable customs and other authorities to better identify and remove unsafe or non-compliant products entering the Union.

On 17 May 2023, the Commission proposed a comprehensive Customs Reform package[1] to strengthen EU customs’ capacity to monitor goods, particularly e-commerce items.

This includes the creation of a new EU Customs Authority and an EU Customs Data Hub, which will centralise data to improve targeting of unsafe products.

The reform also eliminates customs duty exemptions for goods valued up to EUR 150 and designates platforms and sellers registered for the Import One Stop Shop as ‘deemed importers’, making them responsible for compliance.

Under the Digital Services Act (DSA)[2], t he Commission works with national authorities to enforce rules, focusing on very large online platforms and search engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs).

It has designated nine online marketplaces as VLOPs, including Zalando, Amazon, AliExpress, Shein and Temu and initiated formal proceedings against Temu (31 October 2024) for potential DSA breaches related to illegal products, addictive design, recommendation systems, and researcher data access, and against AliExpress (March 2024) for issues concerning illegal products and consumer protection, recommendation systems, and researcher data access.

In June and October 2024 Temu and Shein were also asked to provide further information to address concerns on content moderation, dark patterns, trader identification, and user wellbeing.

The Commission prioritises ensuring a level playing field through effective customs, tax, safety controls, and sustainability standards.

In line with its 2024-2029 political guidelines and Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy’s mission letter, tackling challenges associated with e-commerce platforms remains a key focus, particularly through the enforcement of the new General Product Safety Regulation².
- [1] Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
- [2] Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) that entered into application on 17 February 2024.
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Protecting the competitiveness of the European cement industry – E-002800/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will ensure that the carbon price of cement imported into the EU is equivalent to the carbon price of domestic production under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

Under the EU ETS, the number of free emission allowances declines over time for all sectors. For CBAM sectors like cement, the decline accelerates as from 2026 to maximise the impact of the ETS in fulfilling the EU’s climate goals.

In line with the phase-out of the allocation of free allowances under the EU ETS, the CBAM financial adjustment is phased in gradually.

As required by the CBAM Regulation, a report on the application of the CBAM is foreseen in 2025 before the end of the transitional phase[1].

In view of the expiration of the Autonomous Trade Measures for Ukraine in June 2025, the Commission is working on a review of reciprocal trade liberalisation under Article 29 of the Association Agreement.

However, since cement was already fully liberalised by the original Association Agreement, it was not affected by the Autonomous Trade Measures nor is it within the scope of the review.

The Commission is aware of the challenges that companies and households face due to high energy prices. The EU has jointly responded to Russia’s energy market manipulation and the subsequent high inflation.

The energy dimension of the Clean Industrial Deal and the forthcoming Action Plan for Affordable Energy will address the high energy prices and aim at unlocking all possible decarbonisation pathways for EU industries. Further fuel switches and energy efficiency improvements can also help to reduce energy costs.

[1] Regulation (EU) 2023/956, Article 30(2).
Last updated: 6 February 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Introduction of tariffs on fertilisers from Russia and Belarus to protect EU producers from unfair competition and workers from losing their jobs – P-002696/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament
The Commission is closely monitoring the situation regarding the import of fertilisers into the EU from Russia and Belarus.

While reflecting on possible new measures, upholding food security remains among EU’s primary consideration. Any measure should contribute to preserve a competitive EU fertilisers industry, reduce dependencies while also ensuring that EU farmers have access to ample and diverse sources of fertilisers.

It is worth mentioning that some fertilisers types, albeit not urea or nitrogen fertilisers, are also subject to restrictions under EU sanctions, i.e. a quota on imports of potash fertilisers from Russia[1] and a ban on Belarus[2].

Where there is unfair competition stemming from imports, the EU uses trade defence instruments to restore fair competition. There are anti-dumping measures in place on imports of mixtures of urea and ammonium nitrate from, inter alia, Russia[3] which are currently subject to an expiry review.

There are also measures in place on ammonium nitrate from Russia. Where measures are no longer effective, they may be reviewed.

The trade defence process is normally driven by complaints or requests from industry giving evidence of unfairly dumped or subsidised imports of products or showing that there are changes of a lasting nature which require a change to existing measures. EU industry should contact the complaints office of Directorate-General for Trade for advice.

[1] Article 3i of Council Regulation 833/2014; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0833-20241217

[2] Article 1i of Council Regulation 765/2006; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02006R0765-20241216

[3] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1688 of 8 October 2019; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32019R1688
Last updated: 6 February 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Statement at USTR Nomination Hearing

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) delivered the following remarks at a hearing to consider the nomination of Jamieson Greer to be United States Trade Representative (USTR), with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

As prepared for delivery:

“Mr. Greer, welcome and congratulations on your nomination.

“By traditional timelines, this is one of the earliest dates the Finance Committee has held a nomination hearing for the United States Trade Representative, or USTR.

“Your cooperation and timely responses to questions from both sides of the aisle expedited this Committee’s very demanding process.

“Mr. Greer has been nominated by the President for an incredibly important job: America’s chief trade negotiator. By statute—and frankly, in accordance with our Constitution—our negotiator must report to Congress, which means he reports to the Finance Committee.

“This week, attention fell on President Trump’s executive orders to help secure our borders from illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling. I strongly support securing our borders and fighting fentanyl trafficking.

“The executive orders rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, and concern drug policy and border security. The President, not USTR, invokes IEEPA, and the Department of Homeland Security, not USTR, is responsible for securing our borders. Nonetheless, I am securing briefings on these orders and, in fact, Customs and Border Protection will brief Committee staff on this matter today.

“What the President has done that is different, though, is bringing tariffs into the discussions about border security. USTR is, as I said, America’s chief trade negotiator.

“Any time the U.S. government is considering tariffs or something that implicates trade policy, he should be part of those conversations, and report to us about those conversations and solicit our input.

“Right now, Mr. Greer is not in government and not privy to various discussions.

“Confirming him will allow him to be part of the conversation and work with this Committee, ensuring Congress fulfills its constitutional responsibilities over international trade.

“When we look at whether Jamieson Greer will be a good negotiator for America’s trade interests and a partner to this committee, his experience and skillset indicate the answer is yes.

“He understands USTR’s policymaking since he served as its Chief of Staff. At USTR, he distinguished himself as an effective negotiator in his work on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which overwhelmingly passed Congress. As many of my Democrat colleagues know firsthand, he worked closely with them on their priorities for USMCA.

“As an accomplished international trade attorney, he is an expert on our trade agreements and trade laws, including the requirements to report to Congress promptly and thoroughly.

“We need an effective USTR now more than ever. The last USTR did not negotiate any agreements and we lost ground to foreign competitors. The Biden Administration walked away even from its own limited initiatives, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Rather than forge new rules to combat China’s trade practices, the prior administration turned its back on existing rules and positions, such as our intellectual property rights under the WTO TRIPS Agreement, and support for open data flows and non-discrimination against our technology companies.

“The Biden Administration also dawdled on enforcement of our existing trade agreements, including by failing to act against protectionist measures on our U.S. agriculture and energy producers.

“Finally, there was one other major USTR failure during the last Administration: failing to report and to consult with this Committee. Both sides of the aisle expressed serious concern about the last USTR’s repeated failures to consult with the Committee—and her position that she did not need to improve consultation with the Committee or the agency’s transparency with the public.

“We should not hold Mr. Greer responsible for those failings. Mr. Greer has been crystal clear that he will consult with this Committee and respect Congress’s constitutional prerogatives over trade. I expect that some members may disagree from time to time with the Administration, but, if so, Mr. Greer has committed to make its case before us, rather than ignore us. If confirmed, I will hold him to that commitment.

“Mr. Greer, thank you for your willingness to serve, and I look forward to hearing more from you about your perspectives on international trade policy and how you plan to work with this Committee to achieve our shared priorities.

“With that, I recognize Ranking Member Wyden for his opening remarks.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ‘Egg-sasperated’ Reed Seeks Answers from USDA Nominee on Plan to Lower Egg Prices

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

WASHINGTON, DC — Why did the Senator cross the road? To help drive down ‘eggflation.’

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is urging President Donald Trump – who pledged to “immediately bring prices down, starting on day one” — to finally take action to help reduce egg prices and crack down on anti-competitive price gouging.

Today, Reed sent a letter to the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, Brooke Rollins, who President Trump nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), asking for her plan to help lower egg prices.

Reed says Trump is causing consumers to shell out more for eggs: In the weeks since Trump took office for his second term, wholesale prices for a dozen Grade A large white eggs in cartons already increased about 15 percent and the Trump Administration has taken zero substantive steps to address the situation. In fact, Trump’s initial moves in office, such as blocking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal health agencies from publishing scientific reports on the bird flu or issuing health advisories, or his decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), which coordinates global efforts to combat disease outbreaks, may be contributing to the problem and increasing the likelihood of future avian flu cases.

This week, Rhode Island consumers are being charged anywhere from $4.55 a dozen to $6.99 a dozen for large eggs at local chain retailers and some restaurants have instituted a 50-cent surcharge per egg on all menu items.

“In order to combat these price spikes, we must have a strong response from the USDA to get avian influenza under control. In addition, the USDA, in conjunction with other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, must carefully police the market and crack down on any price gouging by large egg producers, who in the past have demonstrated a propensity to hike prices on consumers to levels that far exceed any increase in the cost of production,” Reed wrote the USDA nominee.

Reed noted that during her hearing, Ms. Rollins “did not provide a comprehensive plan, and instead stated “there is a lot that I have to learn” about avian influenza and animal disease.”

His letter concluded: “As Agriculture Secretary, you would be tasked with spearheading and implementing the Trump Administration’s plan to combat this costly disease in our nation’s animals. I understand that it may be difficult to outline a comprehensive plan during the time allotted in a confirmation hearing. To that end, I would like to provide you the opportunity to outline your plan in writing to address avian influenza and bring egg prices down for Americans across the country.

“To allow me to fully evaluate your nomination, I ask that you respond promptly before your final confirmation vote.”

Reed says he hopes to be able to share the plan with other U.S. Senators on both sides of the aisle to help inform their votes.

Full text of the letter follows:

February 5, 2025

The Honorable Brooke Rollins

President & CEO

America First Policy Institute

1777 N Kent Street Suite 1400

Arlington, VA 22209

Dear Ms. Rollins:

As the full Senate prepares to consider your nomination for Secretary of Agriculture, I write to inquire about your plan to address the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza (“bird flu”) outbreak, which is contributing to high egg prices for consumers across the country. I am well aware that avian influenza has been a problem for multiple administrations – including the Obama Administration, the first Trump Administration, and the Biden Administration. Regardless, I am interested to hear how you, if confirmed, plan to end the current outbreak and lower prices.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), wholesale prices for a dozen Grade A large white eggs in cartons increased 14.5% since President Trump took office. In order to combat these price spikes, we must have a strong response from the USDA to get avian influenza under control. In addition, the USDA, in conjunction with other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, must carefully police the market and crack down on any price gouging by large egg producers, who in the past have demonstrated a propensity to hike prices on consumers to levels that far exceed any increase in the cost of production.

In your written testimony for your January 23rd nomination hearing, you shared that one of your “key priorities for Day One,” if confirmed as Secretary would be to “immediately and comprehensively get a handle on the state of animal-disease outbreaks, including H5N1.” However, when asked for your plan to address this issue by Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, you did not provide a comprehensive plan, and instead stated “there is a lot that I have to learn” about avian influenza and animal disease.

As Agriculture Secretary, you would be tasked with spearheading and implementing the Trump Administration’s plan to combat this costly disease in our nation’s animals. I understand that it may be difficult to outline a comprehensive plan during the time allotted in a confirmation hearing. To that end, I would like to provide you the opportunity to outline your plan in writing to address avian influenza and bring egg prices down for Americans across the country.

To allow me to fully evaluate your nomination, I ask that you respond promptly before your final confirmation vote.

I appreciate in advance your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Staff Concludes Visit to Lithuania

Source: IMF – News in Russian

February 6, 2025

End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. This mission will not result in a Board discussion.

Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Ms. Kazuko Shirono, visited Vilnius during January 27–31, 2025, to meet with the Lithuanian authorities and other stakeholders to discuss recent economic developments, the outlook, and policy priorities. At the end of the visit, the mission issued the following statement:

“The Lithuanian economy has shown notable resilience against a series of unprecedented shocks in recent years. Following subdued growth in 2023, the economy gained momentum in 2024 and is expected to expand further in 2025. The economic recovery so far has been primarily driven by private consumption—supported by strong growth of real income reflecting high wage growth and low inflation—helping to offset weak private investment. Despite persistent uncertainty on foreign markets, the external sector also positively contributed to growth, with robust services exports in particular. Looking forward, the positive growth momentum will be supported by easing monetary conditions, the recovery of corporate profits, and the healthy financial position of households. However, weaker than expected external demand—especially in key eurozone trade partners—and policy uncertainty in major economies could weight on domestic sentiment and exports performance, posing downside risks to the growth outlook.”

“After further disinflation in 2024 inflation will rise in 2025, in part due to higher indirect taxes, before stabilizing above 2 percent in the medium term. Headline inflation declined to a low of 0.1 percent in October 2024, reflecting persistent negative base effects from energy and food prices and tighter monetary policy since mid-2022; it gained some pace afterwards reaching 1.9 percent by the end of the year. Core inflation remained historically high on the back of strong price growth in services, supported by high wage growth, despite the moderation of processed food and non-energy industrial prices. While Lithuania’s inflation has dropped below that in the rest of the eurozone during 2024, high rates of inflation and wage growth in the previous years leave price and wage levels elevated, reinforcing the need to restore productivity growth to preserve competitiveness.”

“The fiscal position in 2024 appears to have been significantly better than expected due to accounting factors and higher revenue performance. In 2025, however, fiscal performance is projected to worsen largely because of defense and social expenditures that will result in a wider budget deficit and an increase in government debt as a share of GDP. The new coalition government is preparing its post-election policy priorities and action plan, including a significant further increase in defense expenditures. Furthermore, there are additional long-term spending pressures—emanating from adverse demographic shifts and the green transition. Momentous challenges in the social security system also create the need to continue to incentivize the public to save more for retirement. Altogether, Lithuania faces a pressing need to mobilize additional sources of revenue on a permanent basis and attain greater efficiency in the public sector. Importantly, any spending realignments will entail critical policy tradeoffs including vis-à-vis education, healthcare, and pensions, and revenue-generating tax measures will be key to safeguarding hard-earned policy credibility and fiscal sustainability.”

“Lithuania’s banking system continues to be well capitalized with ample liquidity buffers. Profitability remains at a record high, despite lower interest rates and the temporary levy on banks introduced in 2023 and extended through 2025. Balance sheet risks are contained given large capital buffers, increasing deposits and high profitability allowing to absorb potential losses, while the ratio of NPLs remains at low levels. Private credit is recovering supported by easing financial conditions. Residential real estate activity and prices are picking up since the second half of 2024 while commercial real estate activity remains subdued.”

“The mission would like to thank the authorities and other counterparts in Lithuania for the candid discussions and useful exchange of views.”

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Boris Balabanov

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/03/pr25025-lithuania-imf-staff-concludes-visit

MIL OSI

MIL OSI Russia News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Company penalized for workplace injuries
Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)
Graham Construction and Engineering Inc., as an employer, pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code for failing to ensure that a temporary cover used to protect an opening was clearly marked to indicate the nature of the hazard. The company was sentenced on Jan. 31 in the Calgary Court of Justice. The Crown withdrew six other charges under OHS legislation. The Crown also withdrew seven charges each against two other Graham-related entities.

The charges stem from an incident at a Calgary construction site on Dec. 10, 2021. A worker was on a roof and plywood that covered an opening had been removed. The worker fell 4.5 metres through the opening, suffering serious injuries.

Graham Construction and Engineering Inc. was ordered to pay $110,000 in total penalties, including a $1,000 fine inclusive of the 20 per cent victim fine surcharge. Under a creative sentence, the company was ordered to pay $109,000 to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) to subsidize safety-related construction courses.

The OHS Act provides a creative sentence option in which funds that would otherwise be paid as fines are directed to an organization or project to improve or promote workplace health and safety.

Both the company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalties.

Alberta’s OHS laws set basic health and safety rules for workplaces across the province. They provide guidance for employers to help them ensure their workplaces are as healthy and safe as possible while providing rights and protections for workers. Charges under OHS laws may be laid when failing to follow the rules results in a workplace fatality or serious injury.

Quick facts
- Jobs, Economy and Trade does not provide sentence documents. These are available through the Calgary Court of Justice.
- Victim fine surcharges apply to fines payable to the Crown.
- Surcharges are not applied to payments to other entities, in this case the $109,000 paid to SAIT, under creative sentences.
Related information
- Convictions under OHS legislation
- Charges under OHS legislation
- OHS incident investigations
MIL OSI Canada News –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Polis Administration Announces Higher Purpose Homes and VeroTouch as Latest IHIP Grant Recipients

Source: US State of Colorado

VeroTouch Unveils First Homes 3D Printed in Colorado

DENVER – Today, Governor Polis and the Business Funding & Incentives division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced two new recipients of the Innovative Housing Incentive Program (IHIP) grant to support the development of the off-site construction industry and create more housing at a lower cost across the state: Higher Purpose Homes and VeroTouch. The announcement comes the same day VeroTouch unveils the first houses 3D-printed in Colorado.

“We are proud to accelerate innovation in housing to better address Colorado’s housing needs,” said Governor Jared Polis. “The unveiling of the first 3D-printed homes in the state is a great example of our state’s efforts to support new construction methods and create more housing now.”

Compared to traditional building practices, off-site construction can produce housing more efficiently and at a lower cost while creating stable, year-round, high-quality jobs. Early results suggest that state support of construction methods like modular, manufactured, panelized and 3-D printed homes are growing the industry and generating new homes in Colorado. The annual percentage of Colorado’s modular housing units produced by out of state manufacturers has decreased from 91% to less than 50%.

The funding announced today will directly incentivize the creation of over 160 attainable housing units. With this latest round of grants, the Polis Administration has awarded 14 IHIP grants directly incentivizing the creation of 2,300 attainable housing units across Colorado and contributing to the recipients’ work to create more than 7,500 units over three years. To date, 705 housing units have been produced with support from IHIP.

“It’s exciting to see the statewide impact of the Innovative Housing Incentive Program as it continues to support the growth of innovative housing manufacturers located across the state, including the Buena Vista and Durango recipients announced today,” said Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of OEDIT. “We commend these companies for their efforts to help increase the supply of housing which, over time, will enable more Coloradans to live in the communities they love and be close to their jobs”

The recipients announced today include:

Higher Purpose Homes – Durango – This panelized housing manufacturer constructs floors, walls and roofs in a manufacturing facility and then uses a crane to place the pieces. The company estimates that 30% of its homes will be deed-restricted and affordable. In 2023, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved Higher Purpose Homes for the Rural Jump-Start program, which encourages economic development and job creation in rural communities across the state. Through IHIP, Higher Purpose Homes is approved for up to $590,000 for constructing a projected 95 units over three years.

VeroTouch Construction – Buena Vista – This 3D printed housing manufacturer uses robots to print single- and multi-family concrete homes on-site. Today, the company is unveiling the first two homes 3-D printed in Colorado: two-bed, two-bath, 1,100 square foot units in downtown Buena Vista as part of a 31-unit development. VeroTouch Construction is approved for up to $618,000 for constructing a projected 67 units over three years.

About the Innovative Housing Incentive Program

The Innovative Housing Incentive Program (IHIP) helps address Colorado’s housing shortage by supporting the development and expansion of the state’s innovative housing manufacturing businesses. IHIP is part of an emerging suite of OEDIT-affiliated programs that offer housing financing tools to help increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing across Colorado. These programs include the Proposition 123 Affordable Housing Financing Fund, staffing of the Middle Income Housing Authority, work by the Colorado Creative Industries Division via the Community Revitalization and Space to Create programs and incentivizing housing units with the Historic Preservation Tax Credit.

About Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) works with partners to create a positive business climate that encourages dynamic economic development and sustainable job growth. Under the leadership of Governor Jared Polis, we strive to advance the State’s economy through financial and technical assistance that fosters local and regional economic development activities throughout Colorado. OEDIT offers a host of programs and services tailored to support business development at every level including business retention services, business relocation services, and business funding and incentives. Our office includes the Global Business Development division; Colorado Tourism Office; Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office; Colorado Creative Industries; Business Financing & Incentives division; the Colorado Small Business Development Network; Cannabis Business Office; Colorado Office of Film, TV & Media; the Minority Business Office; Employee Ownership Office; and Rural Opportunity Office. Learn more at oedit.colorado.gov.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tariffs on non-folding e-bikes from China revoked
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Government accepts TRA recommendation to revoke anti-dumping and countervailing measures on imports of Chinese non-folding e-bikes to the UK.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has today (Thursday 6 February) accepted a recommendation provided by the TRA to revoke anti-dumping and countervailing measures on imports of Chinese non-folding e-bikes to the UK. Non-folding e-bikes make up around 95% of the UK’s total e-bikes market.

Anti-dumping and countervailing measures on e-bikes imported from China, both folding and non-folding, were transitioned when the UK left the EU. The current anti-dumping measure is an ad valorem tariff of 10.3% to 70.1%, while the current countervailing measure is an ad valorem tariff of 3.9% to 17.2%.

The TRA found that revoking the measures on non-folding e-bikes could mean that consumers, on average, could save around £200 each as a result of being able to purchase cheaper e-bikes.

Alternative option accepted

In its transition reviews, the TRA found that keeping the measures on all imports of Chinese e-bikes would not be in the economic interest of the UK.

Under the UK’s reformed trade remedies regime, if the TRA finds that a measure is not in the economic interest of the UK, it offers the Secretary of State for Business and Trade alternative options to revoking the measures.

These alternative options included only maintaining the measures on folding e-bikes as UK producers are more heavily concentrated in this market. It is this option that the Secretary of State has today accepted.

The measure only applying to folding e-bikes will come into force from 7 February 2025.

Notes to Editors

The goods investigated were classified as cycles, with pedal assistance, with an auxiliary electric motor.

The averages used here are estimates representing the average impacts across scenarios modelled.

The investigations covered the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. In order to assess injury, the TRA examined the period from April 2019 to March 2023.

The TRA is the UK body that investigates whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.

Trade remedy investigations were carried out by the EU Commission on the UK’s behalf until the UK left the EU. A number of EU trade remedy measures of interest to UK producers were carried across into UK law when the UK left the EU and the TRA is currently reviewing each one to assess whether it is suitable for UK needs.

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Published 6 February 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI: Digital Assets Backoffice Tech Company Formidium Launches CryptoTax360 For Tax Data Calculations and Forms

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

CHICAGO, Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A pioneer in accounting and tax reporting solutions for digital assets, Formidium Corp, based in Chicago, Illinois has launched its portal CryptoTax360.io. It’s an extensive platform designed to simplify digital asset and cryptocurrency tax reporting. With its powerful automated tools, seamless integrations, and robust reporting, CryptoTax360.io makes capital gain/loss calculations and tax forms preparation quick and effortless for crypto traders, enthusiasts, and industry professionals.

Crypto tax reporting has long been a headache for investors and traders, largely due to the complexity of digital asset transactions. From navigating multiple wallets and exchanges to calculating capital gains and losses across varied transaction types—staking, margin trading, and DeFi activities—the process can be overwhelming. Adding to the challenge, tax reporting requirements leave no room for error. Manual reporting increases the risk of mistakes, consumes hours of effort, and leaves users frustrated, especially during tax season.

CryptoTax360.io steps in to streamline this process. Designed with simplicity and comprehensive coverage in mind, the platform eliminates the tedious aspects of crypto tax reporting through automated tools and seamless integrations. Users can consolidate data across exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols effortlessly. The platform offers capital gain/loss calculations using multiple methods like FIFO, LIFO, HIFO, and more.

CryptoTax360.io offers an instant generation of forms like Schedule D and Form 8949, streamlining the tax preparation process. Its robust dashboard provides insights into portfolio performance, helping users stay organized without stress.

“Crypto tax reporting has always been a daunting task due to the complexity of digital asset transactions’ bookkeeping, financial reporting and tax reporting. Managing multiple wallets, exchanges, and varied transaction types, can feel overwhelming. Our goal with CryptoTax360 is to eliminate this frustration by providing a seamless and effortless reporting solution for everyone.” said Nitin Somani, Co-Founder of Formidium.

Crypto Tax Reporting with CryptoTax360 in 3 Easy Steps:

1️. Effortless Trade Imports – Seamlessly connect wallets and exchanges via API, public addresses, or by uploading files directly.

2️. Comprehensive Portfolio Insights – Review auto-synced transactions, dashboards, and gain and loss breakdowns for complete transparency.

3️. Quick Report Generation – Instantly generate and export tax-filing-ready reports in PDF or Excel formats, making tax preparation smooth and stress-free.

About CryptoTax360.io

Cryptotax360.io is a technology platform developed by Formidium Corp, provides a 360-degree view of cryptocurrency trades, transactions, tax and portfolio reporting. Whether you’re an individual investor, professional trader, or CPA, CryptoTax360.io provides seamless integrations, automated tax data calculations, and portfolio reporting. CryptoTax360 transforms tax season into a stress-free experience. Visit www.cryptotax360.io for more information and to sign up.

About Formidium

Formidium is a pioneer in digital assets accounting and tax reporting. Since 2016, the firm has built a global presence with offices in the U.S., India, Canada, and Singapore, supporting over 600 client relationships. It’s cloud-native, scalable SaaS platform enables automated workflows, real-time data access, and modular capabilities for seamless growth.

Media Contact

Krishna Priya Gupta
info@cryptotax360.io

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI: QXO Urges Beacon Roofing Supply to Let Shareholders Decide on Premium All Cash Offer of $124.25 per Share

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QXO, Inc. (NYSE: QXO) today issued the following statement in response to the announcement by Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (Nasdaq: BECN) that its Board of Directors has rejected QXO’s all-cash $124.25 per share offer.

On January 27, 2025, QXO commenced a tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Beacon for $124.25 per share in cash, for an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $11 billion, representing a 37% premium to Beacon’s 90-day unaffected volume-weighted average price of $91.02 per share as of November 15, 2024. QXO’s offer price is also higher than Beacon’s shares have ever traded. Beacon’s Board offers no basis for its assertion that QXO’s premium offer undervalues Beacon’s shares, and the trading price of Beacon’s shares indicates that Beacon’s Board is wrong.

“Our offer provides certainty, a significant premium in cash and the ability to close quickly with no regulatory delays, financing risks or diligence conditions,” said Brad Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of QXO. “Beacon’s filing shows no indication of an actionable third-party alternative. We have made a very compelling offer, and Beacon should let its shareholders decide what is in their best interest.”

Notably, Beacon confirmed today it would wait to announce newly constructed 2028 financial projections until March 13, more than a month from today and more than three months from its Board’s initial rejection of QXO‘s offer. There is no reason for Beacon to introduce yet another delay by waiting to disclose its newly formulated projections.

QXO’s tender offer will be outstanding until 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of February 24, 2025, and it is prepared to complete the acquisition shortly after the tender expires, subject to the terms of the offer. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions or due diligence conditions, and QXO expects that the waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and the Canadian Competition Act will have expired or been waived by the time the tender offer expires.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as lead financial advisor to QXO, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is acting as legal counsel.

About QXO

QXO provides technology solutions, primarily to clients in the manufacturing, distribution and service sectors. The company provides consulting and professional services, including specialized programming, training and technical support, and develops proprietary software. As a value-added reseller of business application software, QXO offers solutions for accounting, financial reporting, enterprise resource planning, warehouse management systems, customer relationship management, business intelligence and other applications. QXO plans to become a tech-forward leader in the $800 billion building products distribution industry. The company is targeting tens of billions of dollars of annual revenue in the next decade through accretive acquisitions and organic growth. Visit QXO.com for more information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about beliefs, expectations, targets, goals, regulatory approval timing and nominating directors are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on plans, estimates, expectations and/or goals at the time the statements are made, and readers should not place undue reliance on them. In some cases, readers can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “opportunity,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “target,” “goal,” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to: the ultimate outcome of any possible transaction between QXO, Inc. (“QXO”) and Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (“Beacon”), including the possibility that the parties will not agree to pursue a business combination transaction or that the terms of any definitive agreement will be materially different from those proposed; uncertainties as to whether Beacon will cooperate with QXO regarding the proposed transaction; the ultimate result should QXO commence a proxy contest for election of directors to Beacon’s board of directors; QXO’s ability to consummate the proposed transaction with Beacon; the conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction, including the receipt of any required shareholder approvals and any required regulatory approvals; QXO’s ability to finance the proposed transaction; the substantial indebtedness QXO expects to incur in connection with the proposed transaction and the need to generate sufficient cash flows to service and repay such debt; that operating costs, customer loss and business disruption (including, without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers or suppliers) may be greater than expected following the proposed transaction or the public announcement of the proposed transaction; QXO’s ability to retain certain key employees; and general economic conditions that are less favorable than expected. QXO cautions that forward-looking statements should not be relied on as predictions of future events, and these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. Forward-looking statements herein speak only as of the date each statement is made. QXO does not assume any obligation to update any of these statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Important Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation, an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell Beacon securities. QXO and Queen MergerCo, Inc. (the “Purchaser”) filed a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 27, 2025, and Beacon filed a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer with the SEC on February 6, 2025. Investors and security holders are urged to carefully read the Tender Offer Statement (including the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other tender offer documents, as each may be amended or supplemented from time to time) and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, as these materials contain important information that investors and security holders should consider before making any decision regarding tendering their common stock, including the terms and conditions of the tender offer. The Tender Offer Statement, Offer to Purchase, Solicitation/Recommendation Statement and related materials are filed with the SEC, and investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of these materials and other documents filed by QXO and Beacon with the SEC at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, the Tender Offer Statement and other documents that QXO and the Purchaser file with the SEC will be made available to all investors and security holders of Beacon free of charge from the information agent for the tender offer: Innisfree M&A Incorporated, 501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022, toll-free telephone: +1 (888) 750-5834.

QXO and the other participants intend to file a preliminary proxy statement and accompanying WHITE universal proxy card with the SEC to be used to solicit proxies for, among other matters, the election of its slate of director nominees at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders of Beacon. QXO strongly advises all stockholders of Beacon to read the preliminary proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to such proxy statement, and other proxy materials filed by QXO with the SEC as they become available because they will contain important information. Such proxy materials will be available at no charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and at QXO’s website at investors.qxo.com. In addition, the participants in this proxy solicitation will provide copies of the proxy statement, and other relevant documents, without charge, when available, upon request. Requests for copies should be directed to the participants’ proxy solicitor.

Certain Information Concerning the Participants

The participants in the proxy solicitation are anticipated to be QXO, Brad Jacobs, Ihsan Essaid, Matt Fassler, Mark Manduca and the individuals nominated by QXO (the “QXO Nominees”). QXO expects to determine and announce the QXO Nominees prior to the nomination deadline for the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders of Beacon. As of the date of this communication, other than 100 shares of common stock of Beacon beneficially owned by QXO, none of the participants that have been identified has any direct or indirect interest, by security holdings or otherwise, in Beacon.

Media Contacts

Joe Checkler
joe.checkler@qxo.com
203-609-9650

Steve Lipin / Lauren Odell
Gladstone Place Partners
212-230-5930

Investor Contacts

Mark Manduca
mark.manduca@qxo.com
203-321-3889

Scott Winter / Jonathan Salzberger
Innisfree M&A Incorporated
212-750-5833

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Trump Tariffs, Trade War Concerns Heard During Welch’s Roundtable with Vermont Businesses and Farmers

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, convened Vermont businesses for a virtual roundtable to hear about the chaos caused by President Trump’s misguided tariff policies and his Trade War. Earlier this week, the president agreed to pause new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, as well as 10% tariffs on imports of oil from Canada—which he had announced days prior, prompting immediate retaliation by Canada and Mexico. President Trump did not pause new 10% tariffs on imports from China. He has also threatened tariffs on imports from the European Union.
“These Trump Tariffs are of enormous concern because of their real practical impacts on enterprises, your companies, on your ability to do your work,” said Senator Welch during the event. “The concerns that I’ve seen and expressed to me by Vermonters are concerns that are being expressed to my Republican colleagues…I think that helps put us in a position to push back and be successful.
“Every single day, I’m going to be thinking about how this impacts you, and on Vermont, because each of you represent a significant part of the Vermont economy, and you certainly represent the Vermont spirit….I want to do everything I can to allow you to continue being successful doing what you’re doing.”
After President Trump’s decision to pause tariffs Canada and Mexico on Monday for 30 days, Senator Welch released the following statement:

“President Trump temporarily backtracking on his Trade War does nothing to give Vermont families, businesses, and farms the economic stability they deserve. Tariffs are taxes, and Trump just made it clear he’s fine with raising taxes on American families,” said Sen. Welch.

Senator Welch was joined by Vermont business owners, dairy and vegetable farmers, maple sugar makers, manufacturers, craft brewers, home heating and energy importers, home construction manufacturing, retailers, bankers, technology leaders, health care experts, transportation industry experts, local and state leaders, and others impacted by tariffs and the president’s reckless economic policies.
During the virtual roundtable, he heard clear concerns from Vermonters, including:
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts.” – Stoni Tomson, a small-scale vegetable farmer in Huntington, VT
“Adding a tariff will either lead to drug shortages in the short term, or long-term significant price increases.” – Jason Williams, University of Vermont Health Network
“If the 25% tariff was applied in full, it would be about a $130,000 – $150,000 unbudgeted hit to our food procurement efforts. And as a charitable organization, we don’t have a consumer to pass along that cost to.” – Jason Maring, Vermont Foodbank
“The ripple-effects that this could have on energy markets, and of course manufacturing, is very heavy.” – Catherine de Ronde, Agri-Mark
“We’re grateful for the pause, and hopeful you can do what you can do to make sure it never comes back.” – Matt Cota, Meadow Hill Consulting
“I’m just concerned in general that it’s going to further stagnate the ability for some of these much-needed construction projects to move forward.” – Matt Cook, PC Construction
“We would be strongly affected by the tariffs in terms of equipment costs for U.S. producers… I’m very concerned with the possible effects of this.” – Dave Folino, Vermont maple producer
“I can foresee this making homes unaffordable—which they already are.” – Denis Bourbeau, Bourbeau Custom Homes
“Our industry has grown in production almost 500% over the last 20 years, and these tariffs would go a long way towards potentially slowing that production.” – Alison Hope, Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association
“That kind of jolt to our budget—there’s just not room.” – Peter Kahn, Sienna Construction
“There’s just so much unknown, and I’m concerned about the impact on our customers—I’m worried that we’ll lose customers…All of this hurts everyone. It makes everything more expensive.” – Ashley Adams, P.G. Adams
“That would basically squeeze us out of the marketplace.” – Melanie Harrison, a small organic dairy farmer in Addison, VT
“Even though the tariffs aren’t in effect, we’re definitely already feeling the effects.” – Elise Magnant, small organic vegetable farmer in Plainfield, VT
“We’re all working on a very slim margin.” – Steve Parkes, Drop In Brewing
Today, Senator Welch will take these stories and the voices of Vermonters to the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, who will lead the President’s tariff strategy.
On Tuesday, Senator Welch took to the Senate floor to blast the proposed tariffs, which would be a tax on Vermonters. Attendees and constituents are invited to share how President Trump’s economic policies will impact their family, farm, or community by sharing their story on Senator Welch’s website.
This event follows a roundtable Senator Welch held in St. Albans on Monday, January 27th, where he heard from businesses and state and local leaders about the President’s threats to reignite a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China.
In many cases, Vermont manufacturers buy imports from Canada to manufacture into products. However, the ability of Vermont’s small manufacturing businesses to absorb a 25% increase in costs on parts or raw materials is limited. Tariffs on Canada and Mexico could result in layoffs or higher homebuilding costs, increased costs of grain for farmers, and more expensive equipment for maple producers, among other costs that will get passed on to the consumer.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 7, 2025
MIL-OSI: Maris-Tech Secures First Eastern European Defense Order for Jupiter Nano

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Expansion into a New Defense Market Reinforces Maris- Tech’s Global Capabilities

Rehovot, Israel, Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maris-Tech Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTEK, MTEKW) (“Maris-Tech” or the “Company”), a global leader in video and artificial intelligence (“AI”) based edge computing technology, today announced that it has received a new order from its U.K.-based distributor for its Jupiter Nano system to be delivered to a new defense company in Eastern Europe. This order marks a significant milestone for the Company as it expands into Eastern Europe’s defense sector and reinforces the Company’s’ position as a global player in video and AI-based edge computing solutions.

The order includes dozens of Jupiter Nano units, which will be integrated into weapon systems for a defense project in Eastern Europe. With its compact form factor and ability to handle multiple video streams simultaneously, Jupiter Nano offers the advantage of ultra-low latency streaming and robust network support. It also addresses the customer’s specific challenges and seamlessly integrates into their sophisticated military systems.

“We believe that this new order is a testament to both the strong relationship we have built with our U.K. distributor and the growing demand for Jupiter Nano’s advanced capabilities,” said Israel Bar, Chief Executive Officer of Maris-Tech. “Eastern Europe is a new and exciting market for us, and we believe that that this opportunity will allow us to expand our reach in the global defense and homeland security markets.”

Jupiter Nano is a dual-channel H.264/H.265 codec, capable of 100msec ultra-low-latency streaming over wired and wireless networks. With video and audio capture, encoding, decoding, transcoding, and raw data preprocessing, Jupiter Nano is designed to meet the highest performance and reliability standards for modern defense applications.

About Maris-Tech Ltd.

Maris-Tech is a global leader in video and AI-based edge computing technology, pioneering intelligent video transmission solutions that conquer complex encoding-decoding challenges. Our miniature, lightweight, and low-power products deliver high-performance capabilities, including raw data processing, seamless transfer, advanced image processing, and AI-driven analytics. Founded by Israeli technology sector veterans, Maris-Tech serves leading manufacturers worldwide in defense, aerospace, Intelligence gathering, homeland security (HLS), and communication industries. We’re pushing the boundaries of video transmission and edge computing, driving innovation in mission-critical applications across commercial and defense sectors.

For more information, visit https://www.maris-tech.com/

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the Company’s future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect”,” “may”, “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it is discussing: the new order for the Jupiter Nano system; the integration of the Jupiter Nano units into the weapon systems; the growing demand for Jupiter Nano’s advanced capabilities; and that the new order will allow the Company to expand its reach in the global defense and homeland security markets. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company’s control. The Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: its ability to successfully market its products and services, including in the United States; the acceptance of its products and services by customers; its continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for its products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; its ability to successfully develop new products and services; its success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; its ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 21, 2024, and its other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor Relations:

Nir Bussy, CFO
Tel: +972-72-2424022
Nir@maris-tech.com

The MIL Network –

February 7, 2025

Trading venue (MIC Code)	Number of shares	Weighted average price / share, EUR*
XHEL	1,379,268	4.64
CEUX	–	–
BATE	–	–
AQEU	–	–
TQEX	–	–
Total	1,379,268	4.64

Category: Trade

Introduction

Latin America’s response to the Covid crisis

Challenges ahead

The task for central banks

About the IPR Center

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

Quick facts

Related information

Alternative option accepted

Notes to Editors

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