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By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Activist investor Engaged Capital has built a sizable stake in Cognex and is urging the maker of machine vision systems to cut costs and use cost consultants, arguing this could help the stock price nearly double in the next two years. "This is an AI company without the AI valuation," Engaged's founder and chief investment officer Glenn Welling said on Tuesday at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit in New York. Welling did not disclose the size of Engaged's stake in Cognex but called it one of the hedge fund's biggest positions. A recent regulatory filing showed that Engaged had roughly $700 million in assets. Cognex's smart cameras and bar code readers are used by customers including retailer Amazon and car maker BMW for purposes such as spotting defects in packaging or scratches in doors. The company, which has a market valuation of $7.7 billion, has seen its stock price tumble some 50% from its all-time high four years ago. Now with new management at the helm – CEO Matt Moschner was appointed earlier this year and CFO Dennis Fehr was named to the position in 2024 – Welling said he is confident significant improvements can be made to drive revenue, profit and ultimately the share price higher. Cognex's share price traded at $47.64 at the start of the week. Last year, the company reported margins of 17% but Welling said those could be closer to 40% with changes to the company's overall spending, particularly on its research and development side where it could cut back on projects with low returns. Cognex's main competitor, Japanese company Keyence, boasts margins of 53%. The company has also reengineered some products and with the help of artificial intelligence they are easier to install and operate, opening up a new potential field of customers, he said. Welling said Engaged has had constructive discussions with Cognex and introduced the management to cost-cutting consultants who have been involved with other Engaged target companies. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Nia Williams)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Activist investor Engaged Capital has built a sizable stake in Cognex and is urging the maker of machine vision systems to cut costs and use cost consultants, arguing this could help the stock price nearly double in the next two years. "This is an AI company without the AI valuation," Engaged's founder and chief investment officer Glenn Welling said on Tuesday at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit in New York. Welling did not disclose the size of Engaged's stake in Cognex but called it one of the hedge fund's biggest positions. A recent regulatory filing showed that Engaged had roughly $700 million in assets. Cognex's smart cameras and bar code readers are used by customers including retailer Amazon and car maker BMW for purposes such as spotting defects in packaging or scratches in doors. The company, which has a market valuation of $7.7 billion, has seen its stock price tumble some 50% from its all-time high four years ago. Now with new management at the helm – CEO Matt Moschner was appointed earlier this year and CFO Dennis Fehr was named to the position in 2024 – Welling said he is confident significant improvements can be made to drive revenue, profit and ultimately the share price higher. Cognex's share price traded at $47.64 at the start of the week. Last year, the company reported margins of 17% but Welling said those could be closer to 40% with changes to the company's overall spending, particularly on its research and development side where it could cut back on projects with low returns. Cognex's main competitor, Japanese company Keyence, boasts margins of 53%. The company has also reengineered some products and with the help of artificial intelligence they are easier to install and operate, opening up a new potential field of customers, he said. Welling said Engaged has had constructive discussions with Cognex and introduced the management to cost-cutting consultants who have been involved with other Engaged target companies. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Nia Williams)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Activist investor Engaged Capital has built a sizable stake in Cognex and is urging the maker of machine vision systems to cut costs and use cost consultants, arguing this could help the stock price nearly double in the next two years. "This is an AI company without the AI valuation," Engaged's founder and chief investment officer Glenn Welling said on Tuesday at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit in New York. Welling did not disclose the size of Engaged's stake in Cognex but called it one of the hedge fund's biggest positions. A recent regulatory filing showed that Engaged had roughly $700 million in assets. Cognex's smart cameras and bar code readers are used by customers including retailer Amazon and car maker BMW for purposes such as spotting defects in packaging or scratches in doors. The company, which has a market valuation of $7.7 billion, has seen its stock price tumble some 50% from its all-time high four years ago. Now with new management at the helm – CEO Matt Moschner was appointed earlier this year and CFO Dennis Fehr was named to the position in 2024 – Welling said he is confident significant improvements can be made to drive revenue, profit and ultimately the share price higher. Cognex's share price traded at $47.64 at the start of the week. Last year, the company reported margins of 17% but Welling said those could be closer to 40% with changes to the company's overall spending, particularly on its research and development side where it could cut back on projects with low returns. Cognex's main competitor, Japanese company Keyence, boasts margins of 53%. The company has also reengineered some products and with the help of artificial intelligence they are easier to install and operate, opening up a new potential field of customers, he said. Welling said Engaged has had constructive discussions with Cognex and introduced the management to cost-cutting consultants who have been involved with other Engaged target companies. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Nia Williams)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Activist investor Engaged Capital has built a sizable stake in Cognex and is urging the maker of machine vision systems to cut costs and use cost consultants, arguing this could help the stock price nearly double in the next two years. "This is an AI company without the AI valuation," Engaged's founder and chief investment officer Glenn Welling said on Tuesday at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit in New York. Welling did not disclose the size of Engaged's stake in Cognex but called it one of the hedge fund's biggest positions. A recent regulatory filing showed that Engaged had roughly $700 million in assets. Cognex's smart cameras and bar code readers are used by customers including retailer Amazon and car maker BMW for purposes such as spotting defects in packaging or scratches in doors. The company, which has a market valuation of $7.7 billion, has seen its stock price tumble some 50% from its all-time high four years ago. Now with new management at the helm – CEO Matt Moschner was appointed earlier this year and CFO Dennis Fehr was named to the position in 2024 – Welling said he is confident significant improvements can be made to drive revenue, profit and ultimately the share price higher. Cognex's share price traded at $47.64 at the start of the week. Last year, the company reported margins of 17% but Welling said those could be closer to 40% with changes to the company's overall spending, particularly on its research and development side where it could cut back on projects with low returns. Cognex's main competitor, Japanese company Keyence, boasts margins of 53%. The company has also reengineered some products and with the help of artificial intelligence they are easier to install and operate, opening up a new potential field of customers, he said. Welling said Engaged has had constructive discussions with Cognex and introduced the management to cost-cutting consultants who have been involved with other Engaged target companies. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Nia Williams)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith said Tuesday Tripadvisor should consider selling its restaurant booking platform TheFork and possibly the entire company. Smith, speaking at the annual 13D Monitor Active Passive Investment Summit in New York, said Tripadvisor has an "amazing" brand, but "there is a huge opportunity to transform and reimagine the user experience to improve revenue growth."  The company allows customers to find and review hotels. Its Viator unit lets users book and review tours and other experiences, while TheFork offers restaurant reservation services. "We believe TheFork, the most easily separable and least-integrated of the three businesses, could be sold at an attractive multiple," Smith said. At the end of the presentation, he said there may even be an opportunity to sell the entire company. "There are standalone opportunities for value creation at each of the Tripadvisor three businesses as well as opportunity to potentially sell TheFork or the entire company." Starboard has been engaging with Tripadvisor for several weeks and this was the first time Smith has discussed his team's thesis publicly. “We value constructive engagement with all of our shareholders and appreciate their feedback. The Tripadvisor Board of Directors and management team are committed to driving long-term value for our shareholders," the company said in a statement. His hedge fund is pressing for change at the travel booking site after building a 9% stake in the company earlier this year. "TripAdvisor is too cheap for a company that is growing," he said.  He said Viator's performance should improve meaningfully, noting that booking experiences is the fastest-growing segment in the travel industry.  To transform Tripadvisor, Smith said, "we believe there is a substantial cost savings opportunity at Brand Tripadvisor, especially if revenue growth does not accelerate." (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss. Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Chizu Nomiyama)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT Atlas, an artificial intelligence-powered browser built around its popular chatbot that aims to loosen Google Chrome's tight grip on the market. Shares of Alphabet, which owns the Chrome browser, were down 1.6% in afternoon trading. The product is the latest entrant in a fast-crowding field of AI browsers, which includes Perplexity's Comet and Opera's Neon, as companies weave in tools that can summarize pages, fill out forms and draft code to attract users. Atlas lets users open a ChatGPT sidebar in any window to summarize content, compare products or analyze data from any site. In the agent mode in Atlas, ChatGPT interacts with sites for users, who can use it to do tasks from start to finish, like researching and shopping for a trip. The browser is now available globally on Apple's macOS. It will soon be available on Windows, iOS and Android. Led by entrepreneur Sam Altman, OpenAI upended the tech industry with the launch of its AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022. After its initial success, OpenAI has faced stiff competition from rivals including Google and startup Anthropic, and has been looking for new areas of growth. Google integrated Gemini into its Chrome browser for users in the U.S. last month, and the iOS Chrome app will also have Gemini built into it. A federal judge in September ruled that Google won't have to sell the Chrome browser. It can keep paying partners to promote its search engine, Judge Amit Mehta ruled, noting that massive investment in generative AI — by Big Tech and startups — now threatens traditional search, making such payments more acceptable. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Leroy Leo and Alan Barona)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser built around its chatbot. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Alban Kacher (Reuters) -French satellite operator Eutelsat reported worse-than-expected first-quarter revenue on Tuesday as a decline in video sales offset strong demand for government services, notably in Ukraine. Revenue from video, connectivity and government services fell 1.2% year-on-year on a comparable basis to 283 million euros ($330 million) in the quarter to end Sept. That was below the average 295 million euros forecast by analysts, according to data from the company. The video business, which provides satellite broadcasting services to over a billion viewers globally and accounts for 47% of Eutelsat's total revenue, recorded a 10.5% fall in revenue from a year ago. That reflected both a long-term decline in the video market and a negative impact from sanctions imposed on Russian channels, the group said in a statement. French regulators recently ordered Eutelsat to stop broadcasting two Russian channels after finding links to a sanctioned entity. Sanctions are expected to have an impact of around 16 million euros this year, the company said. Eutelsat owns more than 600 Low Earth Orbit satellites via its OneWeb subsidiary providing broadband internet, the only other LEO constellation available besides Elon Musk's Starlink. These satellites have gained traction as Europe seeks home-grown alternatives for satellite services. But the firm still faces sluggish growth, hurt by its declining video business.  "We still see a strong progress of Starlink on the broadband and B2C (business-to-consumer) segments," finance chief Christophe Caudrelier said in a call with analysts. "Clearly, the demand for connectivity by satellite is growing fast." A 1.5-billion-euro capital injection led by France and Britain to strengthen the satellite operator is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Eutelsat hopes other countries will invest too. Government services were the fastest-growing segment again this quarter, with revenues rising 18.5% from a year ago to 52.4 million euros. Eutelsat confirmed its annual and long-term financial targets. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Alban Kacher; Editing by Matt Scuffham)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT Atlas, an artificial intelligence-powered browser built around its popular chatbot that aims to loosen Google Chrome's tight grip on the market. Shares of Alphabet, which owns the Chrome browser, were down 2.6% in afternoon trading. The product is the latest entrant in a fast-crowding field of AI browsers that includes Perplexity's Comet and Opera's Neon as companies weave in tools that can summarize pages, fill out forms and draft code to attract users. Atlas lets users open a ChatGPT sidebar in any window to summarize content, compare products, or analyze data from any site. In the agent mode in Atlas, ChatGPT interacts with sites for users, who can use it to do tasks from start to finish, like researching and shopping for a trip. The browser is now available globally on Apple's macOS. It will soon be made available on Windows, iOS and Android. Reuters had in July reported the AI startup, backed by Microsoft, was close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser built around its chatbot. The browser is now available globally on Apple's macOS. It will soon be made available on Windows, iOS and Android. Reuters had in July reported the AI startup, backed by Microsoft, was close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)