Here are five things you need to know this morning
Scotiabank kicks off bank earnings season: Bank of Nova Scotia topped profit estimates in its latest quarter on better-than-expected results in its Canadian banking division. Scotiabank earned $2.29 billion in the quarter ending Jan. 31. The bank saw earnings growth across all divisions including domestic banking, wealth management, capital markets and international divisions. The bank has been slashing expenses to improve operations and says earnings growth should accelerate in 2026.
Trump’s State of the Union: Investors will be watching this evening’s State of the Union address by U.S. President Trump for indications of his economic focus for the rest of the year. There is renewed confusion about the Trump administration’s trade policies after the U.S. imposed a new tariff of 10 per cent on all goods not covered by exemptions. That comes after Trump announced he would increase the tariff would be 15 per cent.
Apotex working on IPO: Bloomberg News is reporting Canadian generic drug manufacturer Apotex is looking at the first half of this year for an initial public offering that could raise as much as $1 billion. An IPO of that size would be Canada’s largest debut since 2021. The report says no final decisions have been made on the exact timing or size of the offering, and plans may still change. Apotex was founded by late Canadian businessman Barry Sherman.
Home Depot tops expectations: Home Depot topped estimates for fourth-quarter results and maintained its annual forecasts, as the home-improvement retailer benefited from resilient demand from professional contractors and lower-cost repairs by budget-strapped customers. Home Depot says it gained market share, while also achieving double-digit e-commerce growth for a third straight quarter. However, the company says some items will “modestly” get more expensive during the first half of this year due to uncertainty around tariffs.
Mega Meta deal: Shares of AMD traded higher in the pre-market on news that Meta Platforms will buy AMD chips and computers designed to run artificial intelligence models over a five-year stretch, beginning in the second half of 2026. According to the chipmaker, the transactions will be worth double-digit billions. As part of the arrangement, Meta will receive warrants to buy 160 million AMD shares. Last week, NVDIA disclosed a similar tie up with Meta.
