Business brief
M&A Exits and Earnings Surges
El Al and Teva report record operational metrics while Google closes its historic $32B Wiz takeover and Perion accepts a buyout.
Business
Google's closed $32 billion acquisition of Wiz validates Israeli cloud security dominance — injecting massive domestic liquidity while resetting the global cybersecurity market.
BackgroundWiz was founded in 2020 by former Microsoft security executives Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak, and Roy Reznik to build agentless cloud security posture software. The startup rapidly achieved multi-hundred-million-dollar annual recurring revenues, leading Google Cloud to launch a buyout to counter Microsoft Azure.
- The completed buyout distributes major cash payouts across 29 venture capital funds and over 500 Israel-based engineers, injecting substantial tax revenues into Israel's state treasury.
- Regulatory approvals in Brussels and Washington concluded a year-long investigation into hyperscaler software bundling without imposing structural divestitures on Google Cloud.
- Wiz's software architecture will anchor Google Cloud Security, directly countering rival enterprise protection suites from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.
Business
El Al converted its wartime hub monopoly into record quarterly revenue and entry into the TA-35 — locking in cash reserves before foreign carriers restore Tel Aviv flights.
BackgroundForeign international carriers cancelled flights into Tel Aviv repeatedly over the past year due to regional security escalation, leaving El Al with an effective domestic monopoly. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's TA-35 index captures Israel's 35 largest publicly traded corporations by market capitalization.
- Revenue climbed 18% year-over-year while seat occupancy averaged 95%, expanding the airline's forward booking backlog to $1.1 billion as Israeli travelers faced few alternative options.
- Net quarterly profit fell 14% to $172 million, weighed down by higher jet fuel costs, shekel appreciation, and a $13.4 million write-down on credit card unit CAL.
- The airline distributed its second cash dividend of 2026, marking a complete financial recovery from its pandemic-era state bailout and reassuring institutional shareholders.
Business
Teva's 10-year gross margin high proves its branded drug pivot is working — ending its historical reliance on commoditized generic manufacturing.
BackgroundTeva long operated as the world's largest generic drug manufacturer, carrying heavy debt from legacy acquisitions and generic price erosion in the United States. Chief Executive Richard Francis launched a strategic pivot to reallocate capital into higher-margin branded specialty therapeutics.
- Revenue for innovative drugs Austedo, Ajovy, and Uzedy expanded to $1.1 billion, cushioning generic margin erosion and US Revlimid revenue cliffs across major Western markets.
- Teva lifted its full-year revenue outlook for movement disorder drug Austedo to $2.65 billion while advancing late-stage biosimilar pipelines into European regulatory submission phases.
- Adjusted EPS hit $0.86, beating consensus projections of $0.72 and driving renewed institutional buying on the Tel Aviv and New York exchanges.
Business
Check Point crossed a critical milestone with subscriptions topping half of total revenue — insulating its balance sheet from physical hardware slowdowns.
BackgroundCheck Point Software built its business selling physical network firewall appliances before transitioning toward recurring software-as-a-service subscriptions. Appliance sales experienced cyclical slowdowns as enterprise IT departments diverted capital toward cloud migration and AI software tools.
- Subscription revenues grew 11% to $339 million, driven by cloud security and automated email threat prevention deployments across enterprise clients.
- Operating margins benefited from a $25 million R&D tax deduction enacted under Israel's revised 2026 corporate tax incentive framework for veteran tech firms.
- Zafrir stated that enterprise demand for automated AI threat prevention will drive product appliance refreshes entering 2027, reversing hardware drag.
Business
Unlock the full brief
Sign in to read every signal, takeaway, and source. Free account — Apple, Google, or email.
