Costco Hands Shareholders A $30 Special Dividend

Goosehead Insurance filed an 8-K on November 9 saying its audit committee concluded on November 6 that its 2023 to 2025 annual and interim financials should no longer be relied upon. That includes the FY2025 10-K filed on February 19. The errors involve how customer contract commissions are expensed and how franchisee fees are presented, as reductions to general and administrative cost instead of revenue. Law firms announced investigations on November 10. The company's Q3 earnings call came the same day as the filing.

The filing says cash flows are not expected to change, which makes this a classification problem more than a solvency one. It still matters for a broker valued at $1.7 billion and 32.3 times earnings on a 7.6% net margin, because a multiple that high rests on trust in how margins are built. Revenue is $365 million. The street still rates it Buy. Restated figures will show whether the margin the market paid for was smaller than reported.

Children's Place filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in New Jersey on November 8, as disclosed in an 8-K on November 9. The debtors are running a sale process for substantially all assets, with bids targeted for December 9. A consulting agreement with Tiger Capital Group, SB360 Capital Partners and GA Retail Solutions runs from November 6 through February 28, 2027. The agreement covers store liquidation and still requires approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and a Canadian court.

The structure tells you the plan. A liquidation consultant signed three days before the filing, alongside an asset sale, points to a company selling its stores and brands piece by piece instead of reorganizing around them. The filing does not say what drove the decision. Equity holders usually rank last in that kind of sale, and the Canadian court approval shows the footprint reaches beyond the United States.

Mercer International and one non-operating subsidiary filed Chapter 11 petitions in Houston on November 9 to carry out a prepackaged plan. Operating subsidiaries did not file and continue running in the ordinary course. Three days earlier, on November 6, supplemental indentures amended the 2028 and 2029 Senior Notes so that the filing would not trigger an Event of Default while the Restructuring Support Agreement stays in force. The company expects to finish by the end of 2026.

This is a debt problem handled narrowly. Keeping the mills' operating entities outside court protects suppliers and customers from the usual disruption, while the holding-company filing deals with the notes. A prepackaged plan only works when the creditors who signed the support agreement hold enough of the debt to bind the rest. The filing does not give terms for equity holders, and in most prepacks of this kind, those terms decide who is left.

Expedia's third quarter, as summarized in a November 11 Seeking Alpha note, showed revenue growth of 12% and adjusted EBITDA up 17%, with margins widening by 135 basis points. Business-to-business bookings rose 19%, helped by new partnerships and a larger distribution network. The gap between EBITDA growth and revenue growth is the story: the mix is shifting toward a channel that carries margin, which is why profit is growing faster than sales.

The stock sits at $253.77. Insiders recorded seven open-market sells and no buys in our data, which is the opposing signal to the note's Buy rating. Sales by executives are common and carry little information alone. They matter more here because the thesis depends on margins continuing to expand. Expedia's own fair-value model shows large upside, but that output rests on a model, and the sell record is the fact.