HEADLINES
Manufacturing Activity Picks Up With Sector PMI Rising to 53.3 in April
Canadian manufacturing activity recovered last month, with data pointing to increases in production and purchasing as demand was spurred by fears of increased prices.
The S&P Global Canada manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 53.3 in April after slipping back down to 50 the month before. The index has now been above the 50 threshold that splits expansion and contraction three times in the past four months, following an extended stretch of decline amid heightened uncertainty in the wake of U.S. tariffs.
A reading of 53.3 would ordinarily be celebrated, especially after underperformance by manufacturers since the pandemic, but S&P Global Market Intelligence Economics Director Paul Smith said April's number should be treated with caution. "Output and, especially, new orders surged since March, but growth appears to be driven by worry rather than any meaningful or permanent uplift in demand," Smith said.
Imperial Oil Earnings Fall as Refinery Throughput Slips, But Upstream Output Nudges Up
Imperial Oil's earnings dropped in the first three months of the year despite a tailwind from higher energy prices.
Imperial shares fell 4% to C$174.60.
The Exxon Mobil-controlled Canadian oil and gas producer's net income fell to C$940 million, or C$1.94 a share, from C$1.29 billion, or C$2.52, a year earlier.
Imperial, Canada's largest petroleum refiner and a big producer of crude oil, logged a slip in revenue and other income to C$12.45 billion from C$12.52 billion last year. Analysts polled by FactSet had penciled in C$11.98 billion in revenue.
Upstream production in the quarter averaged 419,000 gross oil-equivalent barrels a day, 1,000 barrels higher than last year.
TC Energy Approves $1.5 Billion Expansion Project to Meet Strong U.S. Gas Demand
TC Energy has given the go-ahead to a $1.5 billion natural-gas pipeline expansion in the U.S., the latest push by the Canadian energy company to tap strong demand.
TC Energy said it approved an expansion of its Columbia Gas system, an operation bought by the company in 2016 that extends from New York state to the Midwest and Southeast and connects major natural gas basins and markets.
The Appalachia Supply Project extends TC Energy's reach into a corridor that serves multiple high-growth power and industrial markets, and reinforces visibility on incremental growth for the company into the next decade, TC Energy said Friday.
Magna International Trims Full-Year Sales Target
Magna International slightly lowered its full-year sales target after the auto-industry supplier scaled back assumptions modestly for light-vehicle production in North America and Europe.
Shares declined 4.4% to C$82.68.
The company, which produces a range of vehicle parts from electronics to seating and has over the years rolled 39 different models off its production lines, said it now expects 2026 sales of between $41.5 billion and $43.1 billion, whereas it had previously targeted $41.9 billion to $43.5 billion.
The guidance is based on a forecast of 14.9 million North American vehicles being produced for the year, rather than the 15 million it previously assumed, and 16.6 million units in Europe versus an earlier estimate of 16.8 million. Magna still assumes 32 million light vehicles will be produced in China in 2026.
Badger Infrastructure Solutions Surges as Strong Excavation Demand Drives First-Quarter Beats, Rosy Outlook
Badger Infrastructure Solutions shares jumped after the company reported better-than-expected results, lifted by strong demand for nondestructive excavation.
Shares jumped 19.3% to C$78.36.
The excavation company, which serves industries such as energy, construction, telecom, transportation and utilities, late Thursday reported an 18% rise in sales to $203.2 million, beating consensus expectations of $190.9 million.
Badger expects the strong demand it saw in late 2025 and early 2026 to continue through the rest of the year. The company said its large network, established pricing approach and plans to open more branches in key markets has put it in a good position to meet demand.
Hudbay Quarterly Earnings Buoyed by Higher Metals Prices
Hudbay Minerals logged a rise in first-quarter earnings on the back of record revenue despite a fall in production as the Canadian miner benefited from higher realized metal prices.
The copper producer's earnings attributable to owners rose to $190.4 million, or 48 cents a share, from $100.4 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier.
Revenue for the three months jumped 27% to $757.3 million, beating the about $685 million mean forecast.
Canada Approves Second Generic Ozempic Equivalent From Apotex
The Canadian government approved a second generic equivalent of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic.
Health Canada, the country's health policy arm, said that it approved Apo-Semaglutide Injection, a generic GLP-1 injection produced by Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex.
The approval comes days after Health Canada cleared a generic version of Ozempic produced by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, an Indian firm. Apotex said it is the first Canada-based company to have a generic GLP-1 approved for commercial use.
TALKING POINT
Lululemon's New CEO Is Already in the Hot Seat-and She Hasn't Even Started
By Lauren Thomas and Suzanne Kapner
Lululemon's board members were under pressure. The company's estranged founder had launched a proxy fight, with a big-name activist investor waiting in the wings, and the board was being pushed to quickly recruit a new chief executive who could turn things around.
When Lululemon landed on former Nike executive Heidi O'Neill for the job last week, Chairwoman Marti Morfitt and the board thought they had it in the bag. But the pick backfired spectacularly.
Lululemon shares tanked, falling 13% the day of the announcement, and they have declined further since. Wall Street analysts critiqued her tenure at Nike, and investors complained that she wouldn't be starting the new job for more than four months, leaving the struggling company without a permanent leader at a vulnerable time.
Lululemon said O'Neill has the full support of the board, which remains confident that her proven track record and operational expertise make her the right choice to lead the company.
Days after naming O'Neill to the CEO job, Lululemon announced a new board member: former senior Unilever executive Esi Eggleston Bracey. She will replace Colgate-Palmolive Chief Operating Officer Shane Grant, who had been a target of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson.
That announcement was seen by some as a way to try to contain some of the damage, but it made some investors-including Wilson-more furious. He has since said the company replaced one "bean counter" with another. The addition of Bracey to the board was unrelated to the CEO announcement, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Lululemon has been wading through turmoil for over a year, facing the public attack from Wilson and additional scrutiny from activist Elliott Investment Management.
Wilson has been agitating for a board overhaul, and The Wall Street Journal has reported that Elliott was looking to help the retailer find a new leader. Both believe the business is challenged and the brand mismanaged, with sales in North America declining. The last CEO, Calvin McDonald, departed in January.
'Not a tuneup. It is a turnaround.'
O'Neill carries the weight of a Nike resume, but also some baggage.
The longtime Nike employee worked there for over 25 years, most recently as president of consumer, product and brand. Under her watch, Nike doubled down on its direct-to-consumer approach, cutting out partnerships with retailers such as Macy's and DSW, a move largely seen by former executives and investors as the main reason for Nike's current struggles. Nike is still undoing much of the fallout from its direct-to-consumer push.
After O'Neill's departure, Nike split up her role into three separate positions.
In announcing O'Neill's appointment, Lululemon highlighted how much global scale she helped achieve at Nike. That didn't sit right with some analysts, who have countered that fixing the U.S. business should take priority over global growth.
"This is not a tuneup. It is a turnaround," said Bill Campbell, director of research at Paragon Intel, a management research and analysis company. "The mandate is to fix North America, restore full-price discipline, reignite product newness, and put energy back into the brand. O'Neill may help stabilize the business, but she does not look like the obvious architect of the deeper reset this moment demands."
Other analysts are more upbeat. "She brings a significant breadth of knowledge in women's performance apparel and her experience accelerating speed-to-market is particularly welcome at lululemon where lead times have ballooned to about 24 months," said William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia.
Analysts and investors will have to wait several months to see what O'Neill brings to the table. She has a noncompete agreement with Nike that means she can't start the job until Sept. 8.
Meanwhile, the company is being run by interim co-CEOs Meghan Frank, who is the finance chief, and André Maestrini, the chief commercial officer. In March, Frank told investors that the company was working on fixing its U.S. business. "A top priority for the management team is returning to full-price sales growth in North America," she said, explaining that the company was adding more new products and rebalancing its inventory to reinforce its premium positioning.
A Lululemon investor said they have been disappointed that the company hasn't made any major changes under the co-CEOs, and aren't expecting any to come until O'Neill is able to take over and get her arms around the business.
Wilson, in a letter to shareholders Wednesday, pointed out that the company would be without a permanent CEO for nearly 300 days, a decision that he said "escapes logic." He said he hoped that O'Neill would be the right person for the job, but added that her long tenure at Nike "is not the symbol of transformative, creative-first leadership."
Wilson and O'Neill have exchanged messages since the news of her appointment, according to people familiar with the matter.
Other CEO options on the table
Some big investors were pressuring Morfitt, who helped run the search for the next CEO, to move quickly. They felt the board wasn't grasping the urgency of the company's problems and the need to move fast to turn the business around.
Executive search firm Korn Ferry conducted the CEO search for Lululemon. Other candidates under consideration in addition to O'Neill included Jane Nielsen, the former chief financial officer of Ralph Lauren, whom activist Elliott Investment Management had been pushing for the role.
Elliott took a stake worth over $1 billion in the company as it tried to help facilitate a turnaround after McDonald's abrupt departure, the Journal reported in December.
Nielsen underwent an extensive interview process for the CEO job that lasted a few months, people familiar with the matter said. Nielsen had also at one point been in discussions with Wilson about potentially joining his board slate, according to people familiar with the matter.
Other names circulating included Arc'teryx Equipment CEO Stuart Haselden. He had previously spent five years at Lululemon in roles ranging from finance chief to chief operating officer before leaving in 2020. Another name floated was Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz. But it would have been too costly to buy her out of her existing contract with the apparel retailer, some of the people said. Neither Haselden nor Horowitz ultimately interviewed for the position, according to people familiar with the search.
The Lululemon investor said that some shareholders were worried that a Lululemon insider was going to be tapped for the job, so O'Neill's appointment was seen as a positive. But there also might have been some overly wishful thinking that someone with a bigger profile on Wall Street and more turnaround chops would end up as the next CEO, resulting in disappointment with O'Neill, the investor said.
O'Neill's appointment comes as Lululemon is engaged in a nasty proxy fight with Wilson, who has nominated a slate of three directors and argues that the company needs to refocus on its core values of creating innovative, premium activewear inspired by its muse-the Super Girl, a young, educated, working woman who is a trendsetter.
Wilson and Lululemon have attempted to settle their differences privately and prevent their very public fight over board seats from going all the way to a shareholder vote. He and his financial advisers offered a three-year standstill deal in exchange for his three board seats, Wilson said in his letter to shareholders. Wilson's three board nominees were also interviewed by Lululemon as it considered them for seats, the company said in a proxy filing this week.
The company has argued that Wilson kept moving the goal posts on the terms of a potential settlement. Wilson says the board was seeking to have him put millions of dollars into an escrow account to cover a "hypothetical, potential future breach of the nondisparagement" clause.
Lululemon hasn't yet announced a date for its annual meeting.
But a resolution seemed to move further away after O'Neill was named to the top job. Wilson is turning the heat back up.
"All the roads of lululemon's value destruction lead back to one place: the Boardroom," he wrote to shareholders. "This all comes back to the Board's inability to understand the core drivers of the brand's premium positioning and success."
When the company named O'Neill as its next CEO, Morfitt highlighted her vision and her three decades of experience in the retail sector.
"We were thrilled by [the] candidates we saw," Morfitt told the Journal in an interview the day the news was announced. She described the candidates as "very high caliber" and said "many of them said they would not make a move except for this one."
O'Neill stood out as "the clear choice to serve as the company's next leader," she said.
Write to Lauren Thomas at [lauren.thomas@wsj.com] and Suzanne Kapner at [suzanne.kapner@wsj.com]
Expected Major Events for Monday
06:00/JPN: Mar Revised Machine Tool Orders
06:00/RUS: Apr Russian Manufacturing PMI
07:45/ITA: Apr Italy Manufacturing PMI
07:50/FRA: Apr France Manufacturing PMI
07:55/GER: Apr Germany Manufacturing PMI
14:00/US: Mar Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories & Orders (M3)
15:00/US: Apr Global Manufacturing PMI
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Monday
Advanced Energy Industries Inc $(AEIS)$ is expected to report $1.56 for 1Q.
Alexander's Inc $(ALX)$ is expected to report for 1Q.
Allison Transmission Holdings Inc $(ALSN)$ is expected to report $2.07 for 1Q.
Apple Hospitality REIT Inc (APLE) is expected to report $0.11 for 1Q.
Axsome Therapeutics Inc $(AXSM)$ is expected to report $-0.92 for 1Q.
Beam Therapeutics Inc $(BEAM)$ is expected to report $-1.03 for 1Q.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (BMRN,BMRN-EB) is expected to report $0.71 for 1Q.
CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc (CASIF) is expected to report for 4Q.
CNA Financial Corp $(CNA)$ is expected to report $1.24 for 1Q.
CPS Technologies Corp (CPSH) is expected to report $0.01 for 1Q.
Cargojet Inc (CJT.T) is expected to report for 1Q.
Centerspace (CSR) is expected to report $-0.36 for 1Q.
Cogent Communications Holdings Inc $(CCOI)$ is expected to report $-1.00 for 1Q.
Duolingo Inc (DUOL) is expected to report $0.77 for 1Q.
EZCORP Inc - Class A $(EZPW)$ is expected to report $0.40 for 2Q.
Equitable Holdings Inc $(EQH)$ is expected to report $1.35 for 1Q.
GeneDx Holdings Corp (WGS) is expected to report $-0.56 for 1Q.
Genelux Corp $(GNLX)$ is expected to report $-0.19 for 1Q.
HealthStream Inc $(HSTM)$ is expected to report $0.16 for 1Q.
Hess Midstream LP $(HESM)$ is expected to report $0.67 for 1Q.
JBT Marel Corp (JBTM) is expected to report $0.59 for 1Q.
Krystal Biotech Inc (KRYS) is expected to report $1.44 for 1Q.
LB Foster Co $(FSTR)$ is expected to report $-0.22 for 1Q.
Loews Corp (L) is expected to report $0.72 for 1Q.
MSA Safety Inc $(MSA)$ is expected to report $1.74 for 1Q.
Marzetti Co (MZTI) is expected to report $1.57 for 3Q.
Medifast Inc $(MED)$ is expected to report $-0.52 for 1Q.
NAPCO Security Technologies Inc (NSSC) is expected to report $0.33 for 3Q.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd $(NCLH)$ is expected to report $0.11 for 1Q.
OSI Systems Inc (OSIS) is expected to report $2.34 for 3Q.
Pinnacle West Capital Corp (PNW) is expected to report $-0.01 for 1Q.
RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) is expected to report $-0.07 for 1Q.
Royale Energy Inc (ROYL) is expected to report for 4Q.
Superior Group of Cos Inc $(SGC)$ is expected to report $0.03 for 1Q.
TScan Therapeutics Inc $(TCRX)$ is expected to report $-0.20 for 1Q.
Tennant Co $(TNC)$ is expected to report $-0.23 for 1Q.
Transocean Ltd (RIG,RIGN-EB) is expected to report $0.09 for 1Q.
Travere Therapeutics Inc $(TVTX)$ is expected to report $-0.23 for 1Q.
Twist Bioscience Corp (TWST) is expected to report $-0.50 for 2Q.
Tyson Foods Inc - A Share $(TSN)$ is expected to report $0.75 for 2Q.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 01, 2026 16:30 ET (20:30 GMT)
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