Amazon.com, Chevron, Peloton: Stocks That Defined the Week
February 05 2021 - 8:06PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Amazon.com Inc.
Jeff Bezos is stepping back from Amazon. The CEO will hand the
day-to-day reins to Amazon's cloud-computing guru Andy Jassy and
become executive chairman later this year, the company said
Tuesday. Mr. Bezos started Amazon.com in 1994 as a scrappy online
bookseller, and under his leadership the company became America's
largest online retailer and leading cloud-computing service
provider, playing big roles in Hollywood, bricks-and-mortar
groceries and logistics. Amazon shares fell 2% Wednesday.
Chevron Corp.
Two of Standard Oil's biggest descendants considered a reunion.
The leaders of Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp. discussed merging
their companies last year, following the coronavirus outbreak that
put them under tremendous financial strain. Such a deal would
reshape the oil industry and reunite the two offshoots of John D.
Rockefeller's oil monopoly, which was broken up by U.S. regulators
in 1911. The talks were preliminary and aren't ongoing, but could
come back in the future. But a merger of the two largest American
oil companies could encounter regulatory and antitrust challenges
under the Biden administration. Chevron shares added 1.4%
Monday.
Alphabet Inc.
Global ad spending is on the mend, helping Google's parent
company reach new heights. Alphabet posted a record $56.9 billion
revenue on Tuesday, with its Google search and YouTube units
driving its performance in the quarter. The internet titan's
earnings reflected a continuing recovery in advertising spending,
which took a hit in early 2020 when people paused travel plans and
other purchases in response to the pandemic. YouTube revenue soared
46% in the quarter, as advertisers flocked to the video-sharing
platform amid the pandemic. The company said the platform now
reaches more users between the ages of 25 and 49 than all cable
networks combined. Alphabet shares rose 7.4% Wednesday.
Merck & Co.
Mr. Bezos isn't the only chief executive who announced he was
relinquishing the title. Merck's Kenneth Frazier will retire as CEO
at the end of June and will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer
Robert Davis, the drugmaker said Thursday. Under Mr. Frazier's
leadership, Merck became a leader in cancer immunotherapy and in
the development of the drug Keytruda, now one of its top sellers.
Mr. Frazier was a leading industry voice in recent years
encouraging companies to hire more Black employees. Just four of
the chief executives of S&P 500 companies -- or 1% -- are
Black, including Mr. Frazier. He has also steered Merck through
criticism from politicians and patients about how the industry
prices its medications. Merck shares lost 1.7% Thursday.
Peloton Interactive Inc.
Peloton is backpedaling on the launch of its new treadmill, due
to its shipping woes. The at-home exercise company said on Thursday
that it would delay the much-anticipated product release and start
shipping its equipment by air in an effort to ease extreme delivery
delays. Peloton's logistics problems stem from surging demand for
its pricey stationary bikes -- especially during Covid-19 -- as
well as shipping logjams and weather disruptions. To address
monthslong wait times and delivery cancellations that prompted
social-media backlash, the company cut back marketing and doubled
the size of its customer-service operation. It said it expects
delivery times to return to normal by the end of June. Peloton
shares fell 5.9% Friday.
Ford Motor Co.
Auto makers are slashing production thanks to a global
semiconductor shortfall. Ford said Thursday it plans to cut
production of its F-150 pickup truck -- the nation's top-selling
vehicle and the company's biggest moneymaker -- because of the
shortage. Car makers use semiconductors in everything from
engine-control units and transmissions to the large tabletlike
displays embedded in the dashboard. Chip manufacturers are working
to rebound from shutdowns last spring, while demand rises with
increased use of technology during the pandemic. Ford executives
warned that losses of vehicle production globally in the first two
quarters could trim $1 billion to $2.5 billion from its pretax
bottom line this year. Ford shares added 1.2% Friday.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE ADR
It's time for Tiffany & Co. workers to go back to the
office. A month after acquiring the U.S. jeweler, the French luxury
giant LVMH told its New York City employees to return to the office
two days a week beginning March 1, as LVMH starts to integrate the
company. Tiffany will join a small list of large New York companies
that have required employees to return to the office during the
pandemic, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. LVMH's acquisition of
Tiffany closed on Jan. 7, after a tumultuous few months in which it
tried to back out of the deal. American depositary shares of LVMH
added 1.6% Friday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 05, 2021 19:51 ET (00:51 GMT)
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