BUSINESS

Seeing liquidation sales and store-closing signs at once-iconic mall anchors has become a familiar sight across North America, slowly taking away shopping options in many communities and signaling continued challenges across the retail sector.Major department store chains such as Macy’s (M), JCPenney (JCP), and Kohl’s (KSS) have shuttered locations amid shifting consumer demand, higher operational costs, and intensifying competition.Now, another legacy retailer is evaluating its future.After navigating a U.S. bankruptcy restructuring, closing underperforming stores, and working to restore profitability, a Canadian outdoor apparel brand could potentially be selling its entire business after more than five decades.Roots explores a potential saleRoots Corporation (RROTF) confirmed in a recent press release that it has initiated a formal review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including a potential sale of the company.The review is part of a broader value-maximization strategy, and the company will continue executing its current business plan during the process. Roots stated it does not intend to provide further updates unless and until a specific transaction is approved or disclosure becomes legally required. There’s also no guarantee that a deal will occur.The move follows the company’s appointment of Rosie Pouzar as Chief Commercial Officer in February 2026. Roots CEO Meghan Roach said the leadership addition intends to sharpen enterprise priorities, accelerate decision-making, and unlock new growth opportunities, according to a company press release.Roots went public in October 2017 at $12 per share but has struggled to consistently meet profitability expectations since its IPO. While the company has generated free cash flow in multiple periods, margins have remained under pressure.TD Cowen analyst Brian Morrison said in a note that a potential transaction could value the company’s shares between $4 and $4.5 based on valuation multiples of comparable retailers, as reported by Bloomberg.Strategic review processes are often initiated when companies seek to unlock shareholder value, respond to market changes, reduce financial risk, gain access to capital, or pursue ownership structures better suited for long-term growth.

Roots Corporation explores potential sale of entire business.Image Source: Shutterstock

Roots U.S. Chapter 7 bankruptcy and restructuring Roots filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in 2020 amid financial challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the company reported approximately $9.6 million in assets and $15.4 million in liabilities tied to its U.S. operations.The filing led to the liquidation and closure of nearly all its U.S. stores, leaving just two physical locations nationwide. However, Roots maintained its e-commerce platform to preserve market distribution without expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint.   More Store Closures:153-year-old bookstore chain confirms more closures in 2026Aritzia brings back iconic fashion brand after shutdown159-year-old retail giant announces more store closuresThe Giant Company acquires stores as owner exits marketToday, the company operates around 100 stores in Canada, two in the U.S., and over 100 partner-operated locations in Asia. It also has an e-commerce platform that delivers to more than 70 countries worldwide.Roots’ multi-year turnaround strategy shows progress, but profitability remains shakyDuring a June 2025 earnings call, Roots unveiled a multi-year turnaround plan focused on in-store customer engagement, strengthening digital merchandising, optimizing inventory availability, and enhancing omnichannel capabilities to boost sales and get its business back on track.As part of this strategy, the company has closed underperforming locations to allocate capital toward stores with stronger long-term profitability potential. Roots said the strategy had begun showing early signs of progress. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, sales increased nearly 7% year over year. However, the company still reported a net loss of almost $8 million CAD ($5.87 million USD).By the third quarter of fiscal 2025, sales rose 6.8% to $71.5 million CAD ($52.43 million USD). Net income totaled $2.3 million ($1.69 million USD), down 4.5% from the prior year, signaling slower earnings growth despite higher sales.Roots CFO Leon Wu said in the earnings report that investments in strategic growth strategies continue to deliver results. “We have sustained positive sales momentum and maintained the underlying margins of those sales, supporting a stronger balance sheet with year-over-year reductions in net debt,” Wu said.Roots’ shares fell 4.1% on March 2 before rebounding 5.6% on March 4 following news of the strategic review. The company’s market capitalization stands at approximately $118.03 million CAD ($86.34 million USD), with a high debt-to-equity ratio and limited liquidity reflecting ongoing financial strain, according to MarketBeat.What this means for investorsA potential sale of the business could provide new opportunities, including access to new capital. However, if no deal is made, the company’s ability to expand margins and reduce debt will likely determine long-term shareholder returns. Related: Apple closes all stores in fast-growing market

The U.S.–Israeli war with Iran has officially reached Chevron’s Middle East growth engine. Israel ordered Chevron to shut production at its giant offshore Leviathan gas field after joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks raised security risks to critical energy infrastructure, according to OilPrice and Yahoo Finance.Leviathan is Israel’s largest gas field and a key supplier to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. In the first nine months of 2025, the field sold 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas, with Egypt taking more than half, said OilPrice. Chevron followed the shutdown order by declaring force majeure, a formal notice that it cannot meet some contract obligations because of events beyond its control, according to Rigzone and Reuters.Israel’s energy ministry acted on a “security recommendation” when it told Chevron to suspend Leviathan operations until further notice, NewMed Energy said in a stock filing cited by Rigzone. Chevron told Morningstar that all personnel and facilities at Leviathan remain safe and that the company is complying with the temporary shut‑in directive from Israel’s Ministry of Energy.When I look at that combination of forced shutdown plus expansion spending, it feels like a textbook example of geopolitical risk finally catching up with a big‑ticket growth narrative.

Chevron feels Iran war heat.Shutterstock

How the Iran war is hitting Middle East energy flowsChevron’s Leviathan pause is part of a broader pattern of Middle East energy assets going offline as the Iran war drags on. Israel has ordered shutdowns at multiple offshore gas fields and at its 197,000‑barrel‑a‑day Haifa refinery after U.S.‑Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory missile attacks, said Argus Media.Related: Oil shock threatens Fed rate-cut betsEnergean confirmed that it was told to suspend production at the Karish gas field, trimming Israel’s export capacity further, according to OilPrice. Those moves worsen the region’s gas balance because Leviathan and Karish both supply Israel’s domestic demand and exports to neighbors that rely heavily on imported gas, said Argus. The disruption is not limited to Israel.Qatar temporarily shut down its liquefied natural gas facilities at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed after drone strikes linked to the conflict, cutting around 20 percent of global LNG export capacity, according to Argus. Saudi Arabia also suspended production at its largest domestic refinery as a precaution after Iranian attacks and debris fell near key Gulf energy sites.Global shipping is now tangled up in the conflict.Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been closed for days after Iran attacked multiple ships, effectively blocking a route that carries about 20 percent of global oil and gas supply, said Channel NewsAsia. Hundreds of oil and LNG tankers are stranded near hubs such as Fujairah, and shipping rates have jumped to record levels as the war intensifies, the same report said.More Oil and Gas:Energy giant sends blunt $20 billion message on dividend growth147-year-old oil giant just raised dividend 4% in 2026Top energy stocks to buy amid Venezuela chaosWhen I connect all of that, Leviathan’s shut‑in looks less like a one‑off and more like one link in a chain of outages stretching from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf.What this means for prices, inflation, and central banksA regional supply shock like this rarely stays contained to energy traders’ screens. Global oil and gas prices have climbed more than 15% since the latest round of strikes began, with Brent crude up about 6 percent on one recent trading day to above $82 per barrel, according to Channel NewsAsia.European gas prices have spiked roughly 40% on top of a previous 40 percent jump as Qatar’s LNG halt and Israeli disruptions tighten supply, Channel NewsAsia said. At the same time, gasoline prices in the United States have moved back above $3 a gallon, reversing some of the relief drivers saw earlier this winter. Analysts are already warning that the energy shock could re‑ignite inflation and complicate central bank plans.The war‑driven rise in oil and gas prices “risks triggering a renewed spike in inflation that could choke off economic recovery in Europe and Asia” if the conflict drags on in a region that delivers about one‑third of global oil and nearly one‑fifth of natural gas, Channel NewsAsia reported.A Goldman Sachs note said a prolonged disruption could add a double‑digit dollar “risk premium” to crude and significantly raise global gas prices if LNG supply from Qatar and other exporters remains constrained, TheStreet reported.For consumers, that likely shows up as:Higher gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices that filter into commuting and travel costs.Rising utility and heating bills in markets that depend on imported gas.Higher odds that rate cuts are delayed or scaled back if headline inflation gets a second wind.I see this conflict as an unwelcome reminder that energy security, inflation, and everyday budgets are still tightly linked.Chevron’s Middle East strategy under new scrutinyBefore this crisis, Chevron was treating Israel as a major growth hub.The company has been investing to boost Leviathan’s capacity from around the low‑teens in annual billion‑cubic‑meter output to about 21 billion cubic meters as part of a roughly 35 billion dollar export framework with Egypt, according to AzerNews.​Chevron told investors its onshore operations in the Partitioned Neutral Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are running normally, which means its broader Middle East production has not been fully dragged into the conflict, Morningstar reported. Still, declaring force majeure at Leviathan signals the company knows contractual volumes and cash flows from that project are now at the mercy of security conditions, Rigzone noted.Chevron’s stock, meanwhile, has reflected a mix of fear and opportunity.Chevron shares recently hit record levels as investors flocked to large U.S. oil names on expectations that higher crude prices will boost earnings even as some overseas projects face disruptions, MarketWatch wrote. When I look at Chevron through a personal‑finance lens, I see two truths that can coexist:The company’s diversified portfolio means rising global oil prices can offset lost Israeli gas volumes.Its Middle East gas assets are clearly not the low‑volatility, utility‑like earnings stream some investors once imagined.If you hold CVX, you’re now partly betting that management can keep harvesting higher prices while navigating an increasingly unstable political map.What I’d do with this as a saver or investorYou can’t pick the next headline from Tehran or Jerusalem, but you can decide how much of your balance sheet is exposed to them.If I were building or tweaking a portfolio around this:I would size any position in Chevron and other Middle East‑heavy energy stocks so a prolonged Leviathan shutdown or further Gulf export disruption doesn’t threaten my long‑term plan.I’d be careful about overweighting LNG exporters that depend heavily on the Strait of Hormuz or regional pipelines, given the tanker bottlenecks and infrastructure hits that Channel NewsAsia and Argus have detailed.I’d also use this episode as a stress test: imagine oil staying in the 80s, gas prices elevated, and central banks cutting rates more slowly. If that scenario breaks your budget or your portfolio allocation, it’s a signal to reduce risk.On the household side, I’d build in a bit more room in my 2026 budget for fuel and utility costs and look hard at any variable‑rate debt while central banks weigh how patient they can be. You don’t control the war, but you do control how exposed your finances are when a field like Leviathan suddenly goes dark.Related: Analyst resets Chevron stock price target as oil strategy shifts

Snowflake, the cloud-based data platform company that helps companies store, analyze, and share big datasets across public clouds, reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings last week on February 25.The company, best known for its AI data cloud platform that enables application development, data warehousing, and analytics, topped Wall Street expectations, driven largely by accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence.The company stock has struggled in recent months, down 27% this past quarter and 23% year to date. But since reporting a strong quarter with future growth possibilities, despite an early setback, the stock is up 2.3% this past month.Snowflake earnings: revenue and margins beatIn Q4, Snowflake reported $1.23 billion in product revenue, a 30% year-over-year increase, 2% above the Street consensus. With an 11% operating margin that far exceeded the 7% Street estimate, Snowflake also guided to increased product revenue growth in fiscal year 2027.More Tech Stocks:Morgan Stanley sets jaw-dropping Micron price target after eventNvidia’s China chip problem isn’t what most investors thinkQuantum Computing makes $110 million move nobody saw comingSnowflake earnings at a glance:Product revenue $1,227 million, up 30%Total revenue $1,284 million, up 30%Gross profit margin up 72% at $921 millionOperating income at $139 million, up 11%EPS $0.32, up 4% year over year

Snowflake’s stock is down 22% year to date.Skaffari/Getty Images for Snowflake

Goldman Sachs bullish but trims targetIn a note shared with TheStreet, analysts Gabriella Borges, Maura Hager, and Matthew Martino at Goldman Sachs took a deep dive into Snowflake’s earnings report.The firm maintains its buy rating after the earnings report, but lowered its price target to $216 from $246.One highlight that stands out as promising, according to Goldman Sachs, is Snowflake’s new offering, Cortex Code.This context-aware AI coding assistant is embedded directly into developer workflows, and since its launch in November 2025, has already attracted more than 4,400 users.Goldman points out that customers found Cortex code efficient, some even suggesting that it compressed “16 workweeks into less than a month.” The code is a good example of Snowflake’s push into AI automation, positioning the company as a platform that manages workflows across the full data lifecycle.The firm also noted broader adoption of Snowflake, underscoring the company’s ability to capture greater wallet share.Snowflake introduced 430+ new capabilities in FY26.Signed a $400 million-plus multi-year deal with a financial services customer (client name undisclosed), the largest in company history.Remaining performance obligations of $9.77 billion, up 42% year over year and 24% quarter over quarter.Given these advancements, Goldman expects to see customer expansion, driven by an increase in higher-spending customers. The firm also noted a pickup in cloud RDBMS migrations catalyzed by AI. And driven by product innovation, it expects to see greater adoption of ML/AI workloads, adding to the existing momentum, as 9,100+ Snowflake accounts already use its AI features, representing 70% penetration of its total customer base.However, analysts are also highlighting certain downsides near term.Iceberg cannibalizing Snowflake’s storage revenueIncreased competition from CSPs and DatabricksAdverse changes in the IT spending or optimization in cloud spendingAnalysts react to Snowflake’s AI momentumCiti analyst Tyler Radke raised the price target to $280 from $270, keeping a buy rating, noting that the Q4 report demonstrated increased AI momentum.Baird lowered its price target from $270 to $210, keeping an outperform rating, but is positive on Snowflake’s growing AI ripples.Truist lowered its target to $240 from $270, keeping a buy rating, saying that while Q4 results topped the consensus, shares traded lower after hours as management had set higher expectations at Q3.Deutsche lowered the target to $230 from $275, keeping a buy rating.DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria raised the price target to $250 from $300, while maintaining a buy rating, commenting on Snowflake’s strong Q4 results, in which the Company beat both top- and bottom-line expectations.Luria adds that the company remains an AI winner, isolated from “vibe-coding fears,” and that its conversations with the DEN (developer community) continue to reinforce its status as a critical component of the enterprise AI puzzle, according to TheFly.Related: Bank of America revamps Costco stock price before earnings