Category: 3. Business

Despite being just 66 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, San Antonio International Airport dominates its core catchment, achieving a 69% total market share. Unsurprisingly, of the passengers leaking from this area, Austin-Bergstrom captures 77%, followed by Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport capturing 17%.

Interestingly, on the three routes where San Antonio is leaking the most passengers to Austin (to Los Angeles International Airport, New York Newark Liberty International Airport and San Francisco International Airport), a significant number of passengers are located close to San Antonio.

Resident passengers using Austin to travel to LAX, EWR and SFO in 2023

In Jul-2025, San Antonio Airport received a USD13.3 million grant from the US FAA under the Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) programme to support key elements of the airport’s new terminal development as it enters its fourth phase of construction.

The airport broke ground on the new terminal in Dec-2024, with the project to include over 800,000sqft of terminal space, 35,700sqft of concessions space and up to 17 gates.

The terminal is scheduled for completion in 2028 and forms the cornerstone of the airport’s USD2.5 billion Elevate/SAT expansion and capital improvements programme.

Catchment Analyzer data is helping airports stay on top of the changing passenger behaviour trends of their catchment area, uncovering underlying patterns rather than relying on pure volume metrics.

Recent CAPA News highlights for San Antonio International Airport

San Antonio International Airport secures USD13.3m AIG grant for terminal development project

San Antonio International Airport received (07-Jul-2025) a USD13.3 million grant from the US FAA under the Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) programme. Funding will support key elements of the airport’s new terminal development as it enters its fourth phase of construction, such as mass excavation, drilled piers and design assist work for mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems as well as baggage handling systems. The terminal project is the cornerstone of Elevate/SAT, a USD2.5 billion expansion and capital improvements programme.

San Antonio International Airport confirms parking structure, Ground Transportation Centre project

San Antonio International Airport announced (14-May-2025) it is moving forward with the design and construction of a new parking structure and Ground Transportation Centre. The project aims to provide expanded public parking for up to 2000 vehicles, as well as a central location for shuttles, rideshares, taxis and future mobility services. The structure will also be designed to accommodate future development of an eVTOL operations area.

Spirit Airlines launches Atlanta-San Antonio service

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, via its official Twitter account, announced (10-Apr-2025) Spirit Airlines launched San Antonio service. The service operates daily with A320 equipment. Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines also operate the route, according to OAG.

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The growth in global demand for “green” office buildings has slowed after Donald Trump’s assault on environmental protection policies caused a slump in interest in the US, according to a survey of construction industry professionals.

Building occupiers and investors across North America and South America expressed significantly lower growth in demand for green commercial buildings, a shift that “seems to be in response to a change in US policy focus”, according to a survey of members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Reported demand across the rest of the world also fell, albeit not as sharply.

Residential and commercial buildings together accounted for 34% of global carbon emissions in 2023, according to the UN Environment Programme. The majority of those emissions came from heating, cooling and powering buildings, although about a fifth came from construction.

The UN said there was a “critical need for accelerated action in the buildings sector to meet global climate goals”. However, the Rics survey suggested global construction industry professionals were experiencing slower growth in demand.

Green buildings can use a range of techniques to cut their environmental impact, ranging from using materials that reduce high-carbon concrete, to cutting water use, cutting heat lost through windows, and using renewable energy. Energy efficiency improvements in particular also help to cut operating costs.

Nicholas Maclean, Rics’s acting president, said: “It seems to me that what we’re seeing at the moment might be a blip.

“The people who are going to end up using these buildings want them to be sustainable. Everybody, frankly, knows this is the right thing to do.”

He added that green office buildings tend to have a “competitive advantage” in attracting higher rents, because of demand from large-scale corporate tenants, in particular.

There were still more US respondents to the survey who reported growth in interest in sustainable commercial buildings. However, the balance of building professionals across the continent reporting higher demand fell sharply, from 25% to 11%.

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Outside North and South America, the balance reporting growth in demand was 40%, still down from 48% in 2021, the first year of the survey, but far above the US.

Kisa Zehra, Rics’s sustainability analyst, said government policy and regulations have a “huge impact on the confidence of the market”. The Trump administration has made a concerted effort to dismantle a huge range of environmental protections put in place by Republican and Democratic predecessors, undermining confidence in green standards.

Rics also highlighted a decline in the number of construction industry professionals who measured their projects’ embodied carbon, such as that emitted in making materials such as steel, glass and concrete, or in the construction process itself. Forty-six percent of construction professionals reported not measuring embodied carbon, up from 34% the year before. Only 16% of respondents said carbon measurement meaningfully informed material choices in project design.

This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.

Specification:

Some current wealth and income statistics:

• In 2025, the world’s 3,028 billionaires have a combined wealth of $16.1tn. This is a similar value to the world’s second-largest economy, China

• The richest 1 per cent of the world’s population accounts for 43 per cent of the value of all global financial assets

• The bottom 50 per cent of the world’s population owns just 2 per cent of the value of all global financial assets

• If Elon Musk achieved an asset value of $1tn, it would make his wealth the equivalent of the 20th largest economy in the world (above Belgium, Taiwan and Argentina)

• The US Gini coefficient has increased from 0.43 in 1990 to 0.49 in 2024

Read the article and then answer the questions:

Elon Musk celebrates $1tn Tesla pay vote victory

• Outline the difference between Elon Musk’s income and wealth [2]

• Outline what Elon Musk has to achieve in terms of the value of Tesla to receive his $1tn income payment [2]

• Using a diagram, explain the Lorenz curve [4]

• Explain how the Gini coefficient can be used to measure income inequality [4]

• Outline what an increase in the US’ Gini coefficient from 0.43 in 1990 to 0.49 in 2024 shows [2]

• Explain two factors that might lead to an increase in income inequality in the US [4]

• Explain two negative consequences of increasing income inequality in the US [4]

• Explain two benefits of paying someone like Elon Musk, such as a large income [4]

Alex Smith, Sevenoaks School, InThinking/thinkIB

Amdocs (DOX) shares edged up slightly after a week of moderate moves, catching the eye of investors tracking sector sentiment. The company’s recent 1% daily gain and 5% climb over the past month add some interest to its performance.

See our latest analysis for Amdocs.

While Amdocs has seen a modest uptick recently, it is worth noting that momentum has cooled compared to earlier in the year. The company’s latest share price of $84.57 puts its 1-year total shareholder return at -6%, suggesting investors remain cautious, even as the 5-year total shareholder return stands at a solid 46%. It appears that the stock’s long-term gains are intact, though sentiment has softened in the short run.

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With shares lagging over the past year yet trading at a meaningful discount to analyst targets, investors may wonder if Amdocs is undervalued at these levels, or if future growth is already factored into the price.

Amdocs recently closed at $84.57, while the most widely followed narrative pegs its fair value closer to $104.00. This suggests a notable gap, pointing to market skepticism or a disconnect with analyst expectations.

The accelerating adoption of cloud, automation, and AI/ML across telecom and media sectors is driving a multi-year wave of IT stack modernization. Amdocs is winning new large-scale modernization and migration deals in cloud, generative AI, and data services, which is expanding its total addressable market and supporting sustained topline revenue growth.

Read the complete narrative.

Want to know what propels this bullish case? The secret lies in aggressive profit margin expansion and growth that bucks the trend for most IT peers. Find out the ambitious assumptions underwriting this valuation and why some think Amdocs could shatter expectations.

Result: Fair Value of $104.00 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, persistent macro uncertainty and heavy reliance on a handful of large telecom clients could pose challenges to Amdocs’s ability to deliver its anticipated growth.

Find out about the key risks to this Amdocs narrative.

If you think a different story is unfolding, or want to dig into the numbers yourself, you can craft your own view in just a few minutes. Do it your way.

A good starting point is our analysis highlighting 5 key rewards investors are optimistic about regarding Amdocs.

Seize the moment to stay ahead of the market. Fresh opportunities are waiting for smart investors who go beyond the obvious and act decisively.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include DOX.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

Contrary to claims made by several mining companies and industry groups, Queensland’s coal royalty rate is not 40%. The average rate based on average Queensland coal prices in 2024 was actually much lower, at 20%. 

Queensland’s coal royalty regime is a tiered system that applies a different royalty rate depending on the price of coal. Since 2024, coal prices have continued to fall further through 2025, meaning so too have the amount of royalties owed. Based on Australian average coal prices from January to September 2025 the average royalty rate in Queensland would be 10%. Based on the old royalty regime prior to July 2022, this would have been 9%, a difference of only one percentage point.

The change to the Queensland royalty rate implemented in July 2022 addressed the decoupling of royalties paid from coal prices, which began during the coal price spikes in 2021 and 2022. Prior to July 2022, the highest Queensland royalty rate applied was 15% for coal sold above AU$150 per tonne. This meant that the average royalties paid generally corelated closely with prices, particularly when coal sold for AU$200 or less. As coal prices spiked during 2021 and 2022 in response to global commodity supply shocks and geopolitical events, the amount of royalties paid did not increase at the same rate as prices.

Average Queensland coal prices increased AU$302 or 246% per tonne between 2020 and 2022. Based on the old royalty rate, the amount owed per tonne would have increased AU$45 or 60% during the same period. Applying the new rates would mean royalties owed in 2022 compared to 2020 increased 236%, which is more closely in line with the 246% increase in prices during the same period.

Therefore, the change in 2022 can be understood as bringing the royalty rate back in line with coal prices. As coal prices have fallen, so too have the royalties owed ( as shown in Figure 1).

Figure 1: Queensland average annual coal prices and royalty rates, 2010 to 2024, AU$

^{Source: IEEFA; Queensland government.}

Figure 2: Australian monthly average coal prices, Jan 2019 to Sep 2025

^{Source: IEEFA; World Bank.
Note: Nominal prices. Prices converted to AU$ from US$ using Reserve Bank of Australia historical F1 exchange rates monthly average.}

Under Queensland’s tiered system, the 40% royalty rate referenced frequently in the media is not applied to the entire value. The 40% royalty rate is only applied when coal is sold above AU$300 per tonne, and only the balance above AU$300 is taxed at this rate. 

For instance, if a miner in Queensland sells its coal at AU$350 per tonne, the total royalty rate applied would be 24%, not 40%. The 40% rate would only apply to AU$50 per tonne in this instance, with a lower rate applied overall. 

This is similar to our income tax system. The first AU$18,200 for most Australian workers is tax-free, meaning a 0% tax rate is applied to this amount. The remaining income is then taxed based on the tax bracket it falls within. For coal miners operating in Queensland, the first AU$100 is only taxed at 7% and then a higher rate is applied for each price bracket depending on the overall coal price. 

Additionally, the changes to Queensland’s coal mine royalties implemented in July 2022 only increased the royalty rate for coal sold at more than AU$150 per tonne. Any coal sold for less than AU$150 per tonne still has the same royalty rate applied. The difference between the old and new royalty rates are shown below, along with an example of the royalty rate for coal sold at the highest monthly average Australian coal price observed in 2022 of AU$663.

Table 1: Queensland royalty rates, prior to July 2022

^{Source: IEEFA; Queensland Mineral Resources (Royalty) Regulation.}

Table 2: Queensland royalty rates, July 2022 onwards

^{Source: IEEFA; Queensland Mineral Resources (Royalty) Regulation.}

Multiple companies in Australia have criticised Queensland’s 2022 royalty rate change as the reason behind their decision to lay off workers and as a risk to investment in the industry. However, IEEFA recently discussed how sustained, high operating costs and labour shortages are putting pressure on margins for coalminers across both NSW and Queensland, more so than government royalty rate increases. In addition to rising labour costs, coal miners face a range of other rising cost factors. These include higher financing and borrowing costs, partly caused by increased barriers to accessing traditional finance options; increasing environmental and emissions reduction obligations; increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather; and the subsequent damages and production disruption costs.

Given that the change to royalty rates in 2022 only affects coal sold for over AU$150 per tonne, if companies are claiming this is the primary cause of their worker layoffs and financial difficulties, this calls into question why coal miners’ business models aren’t viable when coal prices are below this level. It also highlights the impact other rising cost factors are having on the sector.

Despite these rising pressures, overall Australian coal mining industry income remained higher in 2024 than in 2021 and 2022, prior to the change in Queensland royalty rates (Figure 4). Additionally, the level of foreign direct investment in Australian mining has continued to rise since 2020, with AU$44 billion received between 2020 and 2024 (Figure 5). 

Figure 3: Coal mining industry income FY2012-24

_{Source: IEEFA; Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).}

Figure 4: Level of foreign direct investment in Australian mining industry

^{Sources: IEEFA; ABS.
Note. Mining sector categorised as Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) classification “Mining”.} 

Overall, there is not sufficient data or evidence to support the claim that Queensland royalty rates are causing a decrease in income and investment across the industry. However, there are indicators showing the rise of other risk factors for the industry, that far outweigh royalty costs.

 

Brown & Brown (BRO) continues to attract attention from investors interested in the insurance sector’s performance and resilience. Recent price movement shows some volatility, which prompts questions around valuation and the company’s recent growth numbers.

See our latest analysis for Brown & Brown.

Brown & Brown’s share price has taken a hit recently, dropping over 18% in the last month after some volatility in the broader insurance sector. While the 1-year total shareholder return sits at -29.7%, the bigger picture shows a strong recovery streak with gains of 41% and 72% over the past three and five years respectively. This reflects momentum that has cooled off lately but has not erased the longer-term growth story.

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With shares trading below analyst targets after recent declines, the key question remains: is Brown & Brown now undervalued, or has the market already accounted for future growth in the current price?

The fair value calculated in the most closely followed market narrative comes in at $97.08, which is significantly above Brown & Brown’s last close at $78.54. This valuation sets an optimistic tone that contrasts with recent price pressure, hinting at substantial upside potential if assumptions hold true.

Brown & Brown’s strategic focus on acquisitions, having completed 13 acquisitions with projected annual revenues of $36 million, could significantly enhance future revenue streams and market presence. This aligns with their goal of sustained revenue growth through expansion.

Read the complete narrative.

Curious about the foundation of this punchy price target? There is a bold set of financial predictions guiding this view, including various growth projections and a premium valuation multiple. This narrative relies on more than just headline numbers. Uncover the blueprint now that drives this aggressive estimate.

Result: Fair Value of $97.08 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, persistent inflation and potential declines in key market segments could challenge Brown & Brown’s growth expectations and dampen the current bullish valuation narrative.

Find out about the key risks to this Brown & Brown narrative.

While the latest fair value estimate paints Brown & Brown as undervalued, looking at price ratios tells a more cautious story. Its price-to-earnings ratio stands at 27.1x, which is quite a bit higher than both the US insurance industry average of 13.2x and its fair ratio of 17.8x. Compared to peers, Brown & Brown looks cheaper than the group average of 47.1x, but against broader market and fair value benchmarks, the stock is on the expensive side. This gap raises questions about what could happen if market sentiment shifts. Will the price come into line, or is there more risk than meets the eye?

See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown.

If you think there’s more to the story, or want to dig into the details yourself, you can easily build your own view from the ground up in just a few minutes, and Do it your way

A great starting point for your Brown & Brown research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

Don’t let great opportunities slip by. The smartest investors always keep an eye out for new trends and sectors that are about to surge.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include BRO.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

Griffon (GFF) shares are drawing attention as investors weigh recent movements in the capital goods sector. The company has shown a mix of gains and dips in the past month. The stock’s longer-term performance has caught some eyes as well.

See our latest analysis for Griffon.

After a solid run over the past few years, Griffon’s 1-year total shareholder return of 4.9% might look modest. However, it follows a dramatic 3-year total return of over 130%. This signals that momentum may be pausing while investors reassess recent gains and future growth. The latest share price at $72.15 keeps Griffon in the spotlight for those tracking shifts in the capital goods space.

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With the share price cooling off after years of outperformance and analysts still seeing upside, is Griffon currently trading at a discount, or is the market correctly factoring in its next growth phase?

Griffon’s widely followed narrative points to a sizeable gap between its current share price and fair value, setting up a compelling debate over its long-term potential. The calculation relies on assumptions about robust future earnings and improved profitability in the coming years.

“Ongoing investments in automation and modernization projects, particularly in HBP, are expected to further improve operating efficiencies and gross margins over the next several years, bolstering future earnings and cash generation.”

Read the complete narrative.

Think the price target is too optimistic? The math behind this bullish call is built on impressive profit expansion and substantial margin improvement. Want to see which key variables drive this premium valuation and why? The answer lies in bold assumptions the market has not fully priced in yet.

Result: Fair Value of $100.29 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, persistent weak consumer demand or heightened tariff pressures could challenge Griffon’s outlook. These factors may limit upside potential as assumptions are put to the test.

Find out about the key risks to this Griffon narrative.

If you see the story differently or want to put your own analysis to the test, you can dive in and shape your own insights in just minutes with Do it your way

A great starting point for your Griffon research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 3 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

Smart investors know opportunity moves fast. Make sure you’re not left behind by expanding your watchlist with inspired picks tailored to your goals and interests.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include GFF.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com