After Earnings

Ann Berry is joined by Dynex Capital Co-CEO Smriti Popenoe, who explains how mortgage REITs operate and how Dynex invests in agency mortgage-backed securities. Popenoe walks through the mechanics of leverage, interest-rate sensitivity and how those factors affect returns and dividends. They also discuss the Fed’s role in shaping financing costs, the function of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the housing finance system and proposed limits on institutional ownership of residential real estate.

00:00 Dynex Capital Co-CEO Smriti Popenoe Joins

01:03 What Dynex Capital Does and How a Mortgage REIT Works

02:26 How Mortgages Are Sourced Through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

03:44 Government Guarantees, Credit Risk and Mortgage Securities

04:25 Could Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Go Public? Potential Impacts

06:21 Due Diligence and Mortgage Selection at Dynex

06:41 Specified Pools and Managing Prepayment Risk

08:38 Mortgage Yields, Dividends, and Interest Rate Sensitivity

10:49 Leverage Strategy and Risk Management at Dynex

13:55 Competition in the Agency Mortgage REIT Market

15:53 Dynex’s Growth Strategy and Focus on Housing Finance

19:29 Institutional Ownership of Housing and Proposed Regulations

22:01 Portfolio Duration and Weighted Average Life of Mortgages

23:19 Why Dynex Uses a Co-CEO Structure

26:45 Decision-Making, Accountability, and Leadership Structure

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Ann Berry is joined by Gen CEO Vincent Pilette to break down Gen’s business model and growth strategy following its expansion beyond cybersecurity. The conversation covers how brands like Norton, Avast, LifeLock and MoneyLion fit together, how Gen thinks about consumer trust and how financial wellness is being integrated into its core security platform. Pilette also discusses customer adoption, global expansion and how the company evaluates future adjacencies and acquisitions.00:00 – Gen CEO Vincent Pilette joins00:41 – Gen’s four business pillars and operating segments02:26 – Norton’s role in consumer cybersecurity02:57 – Consumer vs. B2B2C growth strategy04:15 – Customer journeys across Norton, LifeLock, and MoneyLion05:07 – Platform integration and challenges with cross-selling06:59 – Subscriber base and membership structure07:58 – Global user scale across paid and free customers08:21 – Financial wellness adoption and growth outlook09:57 – Positioning Gen for consumers and investors12:09 – Trust-based solutions13:33 – Strategic priorities and future expansion areas17:11 – Customer demand for blockchain-based solutions18:16 – Geographic mix and international growth strategyAfter Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.For more go to https://www.afterearnings.comFollow UsX: https://twitter.com/AfterEarningsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@AfterEarningsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterearnings_/Reach OutEmail: [email protected]$GEN
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Ann Berry is joined in-studio by CLEAR's CEO Caryn Seidman Becker They review the company’s latest quarter, the rollout of eGates and how the company is preparing for global expansion. Caryn shares what’s driving CLEAR’s growth across travel and enterprise, why healthcare is a major unlock and the ways digital identity is becoming a core layer of modern life.

Highlights include: CLEAR's origin story and buyout from bankruptcy plus how the company navigated this fall's government shutdown.

00:00 — Caryn Seidman Becker Joins

00:53 — What’s Powering Clear’s Momentum

01:49 — eGates, CapEx & Free Cash Flow

02:13 — Airport Footprint & Expansion Plans

04:36 — Fixing Wait Times & Member Experience

06:07 — Travel During the Shutdown

07:23 — Signing Documents With Your Face

09:05 — DeepFakes & Identity Security

10:56 — Government Tech & Verification

11:19 — CLEAR in Entertainment & Events

13:21 — Cybersecurity & Holding Less Data

14:16 — Healthcare & “Killing the Clipboard”

18:49 — Global Travelers & Compliance

19:44 — Clear’s Origin Story

23:59 — Stock Price, Buybacks & Free Cash Flow

25:44 — M&A Outlook

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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Ann Berry is joined in-studio by Nate Baxter, President & COO of ScottsMiracle-Gro. They discuss how the 160-year-old company is modernizing its iconic brands, balancing innovation with sustainability, and sunsetting its cannabis subsidiary. Nate explores shifting consumer demographics, regional growth strategies and the company’s planned packaging refresh.Highlights include:- How Scotts and Miracle-Gro are being reinvented for millennials and Gen Z- Why ScottsMiracle-Gro is exiting the cannabis business- How organic and sustainable lawn-care products are shaping the company’s future00:00 – Nate Baxter Joins01:06 – Pandemic hangover and the reset02:33 – Margin recovery and streamlining03:25 – Brand portfolio and recession resilience04:50 – Millennials, Gen Z & wellness06:51 – “Emerging” consumers, kids and pets09:04 – Organics, biologicals and safety10:44 – Modernizing packaging and brand aesthetic11:59 – E-commerce, website revamp and education13:32 – Exiting cannabis and Hawthorne’s future15:22 – Why tech and AI matter in lawn care17:22 – Weather, forecasting and media allocation18:27 – Seasonality and fall lawn strategy21:51 – Free cash flow, debt paydown & M&A24:05 – What a “transformational” deal could be

$SMG
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On this episode of After Earnings, Ann sits down with Beth Gaspich, the Chief Financial Officer of NiCE - a decades-old enterprise software company looking to transform itself into an AI-driven customer experience platform.They discuss how NiCE aims to redefine contact centers through automation and conversational AI, NiCE's nearly $1 billion acquisition of Cognigy, and the company’s approach to fraud detection and deepfake prevention. 00:00 — Beth Gaspich joins 02:00 — The history of NiCE 05:00 — AI and automation in contact centers 06:00 — Deepfake detection and data privacy 10:00 — Market perception vs. fundamentals 11:30 — Inside NiCE’s nearly $1 B Cognigy acquisition 13:00 — Balancing profitability and growth 15:20 — Acquisition and capital allocation strategy 18:00 — How NiCE evaluates AI tuck-ins 19:00 — Beth’s career and leadership path 22:00 — How a CFO keeps up with AI 23:40 — The next generation of finance talent$NICE
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