Uber, GM, Alibaba: Stocks That Defined the Week
November 06 2020 - 8:53PM
Dow Jones News
By Derek Hall
Uber Technologies Inc.
Uber picked up an Election Day win. California residents voted
Tuesday to exempt ride-hailing and food-delivery companies from a
state requirement to reclassify drivers as employees. Gig-economy
companies plan to use the victory as a model to defend against
similar regulation and lobby for national legislation. Uber has
still yet to deliver a profit however, posting a decline of 53% in
gross bookings for rides in the latest quarter. Uber shares rose
15% Wednesday.
Clorox Co.
The need to kill coronavirus is giving new life to Clorox's
household unit. The company booked record sales growth in its
recent quarter as Covid-19 continues to ravage much of the world.
The household-supplies producer said profit doubled to $415 million
thanks to a 27% jump in sales, the fastest growth in at least two
decades. The company still isn't meeting the pandemic-driven demand
for its namesake disinfecting wipes and sprays and is looking to
bolster supply through added production capacity and third-party
manufacturers. Executives are planning to use the windfall to
expand into new regions and product categories, which could help
close the massive gap with rival giants like Procter & Gamble
Co. and Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. Clorox shares rose 4.2%
Monday.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ADR
The suspension of Ant Group Co.'s dual IPOs in Shanghai and Hong
Kong was a stunning blow to Alibaba and Chinese tech billionaire
Jack Ma. The surprise move came after Chinese regulators met Monday
with Ant executives and Mr. Ma, the co-founder of both Alibaba and
Ant. Alibaba holds a 33% stake in Ant. The turn of events brought a
sudden halt to what would have been the world's biggest initial
public offering. The move put a damper on Alibaba's earnings
announcement, which was delivered Thursday and highlighted the
increased demand for digital services that's been spurred by
pandemic restrictions. American depositary shares of Alibaba fell
8.1% Tuesday.
Biogen Inc.
Biogen got a boost thanks to remarks by a U.S. Food and Drug
Administration staffer, who gave a positive assessment of Biogen's
experimental Alzheimer's drug in documents released Wednesday.
Approval of the treatment has become increasingly important to the
drugmaker as its stable of aging multiple-sclerosis drugs faces
increased competition from newer therapies and generic
alternatives. A separate FDA reviewer was more critical and cited
conflicting evidence for the effectiveness of the drug. If
approved, the drug will likely generate billions of dollars in new
revenue and provide years of growth for the biotech giant. Biogen
shares rose 44% Wednesday.
T-Mobile US Inc.
T-Mobile said it would dial up billions in savings next year due
to its takeover of rival Sprint. The cellphone carrier delivered
strong quarterly results Thursday and said the recent merger with
Sprint will yield $1.2 billion of annual savings, more than enough
to cover a $200 million federal fine it inherited from Sprint. The
company added 689,000 new postpaid phone subscribers in the latest
quarter, ahead of rivals Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T
Inc., and got a boost to its customer count from remote learning
during the pandemic. T-Mobile shares rose 5.4% Friday.
General Motors Co.
GM is once again firing on all cylinders. The company on
Thursday posted a $4 billion profit for the latest quarter, driven
by increased production of pickups and a surge in demand for new
vehicles that helped the entire industry rebound from
pandemic-related losses. Executives cautioned that results could
moderate in the fourth quarter, as the number of Covid-19
infections continues to rise, especially in the industry's Midwest
manufacturing base. The still-undecided presidential election could
also have big implications for auto makers. GM shares rose 5.4%
Thursday.
Qualcomm Inc.
A chip giant is expecting a power surge from 5G. Qualcomm
projects that 2021 shipments of 5G smartphones will at least double
this year's expected total -- good news for a company that is a
leading supplier of the chips that power the new Apple Inc. 5G
phones launched last month, as well as other networking equipment
and Internet-of-Things devices. The company said Thursday that
revenue jumped 73% in the latest quarter, exceeding Wall Street
expectations. Qualcomm shares rose 13% Thursday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2020 20:38 ET (01:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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