Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) – Google has renamed
its chatbot Bard to Gemini, powered by a new artificial
intelligence. Consumers can pay $19.99/month for Gemini Advanced,
which includes a more powerful AI model and two terabytes of cloud
storage, competing with Microsoft
(NASDAQ:MSFT).
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Amazon and BMW triumphed
in an action against sellers of counterfeit goods in Spain.
Counterfeits, including products such as valve caps and keychains,
led to a lawsuit in the Spanish Community Trademark Court in
Alicante. Details on penalties have not been disclosed.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) – Meta is ending
the lease of seven office floors in Singapore, scheduled to expire
in September, as reported by The Business Times. This follows a
decision not to renew communicated last June.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO),
Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) – The EU has set a deadline
until March 13 to decide on Cisco Systems’ $28 billion offer for
Splunk. The deal aims to reduce Cisco’s dependence on networking
equipment, facing regulatory hurdles due to antitrust concerns.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) – Walt Disney’s $1.5
billion investment in Epic Games values the gaming company at $22.5
billion, reflecting a decline in value over the past two years. The
deal will allow for the creation of a vast Disney universe in the
gaming world.
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) – Under legislative
pressure, Duke Energy in the US plans to phase out Chinese CATL
batteries on military bases, aligning with cybersecurity concerns.
Changes may affect the energy supply chain. Legislation proposes
avoiding Chinese batteries until 2027.
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) – ExxonMobil plans to end
its operations in Equatorial Guinea soon, after nearly three
decades of oil exploration. The transfer of investments to the
government will occur in the second quarter, aligning with the
company’s global strategy.
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) – China’s Baidu is
partnering with Lenovo to integrate its generative AI into
smartphones, following similar collaborations with Samsung and
Honor. Lenovo will incorporate Baidu’s Ernie model into its
devices.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) – Novo Nordisk’s
(NYSE:NVO) acquisition of Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) highlights the
importance of major pharmaceuticals having control over their
supply chain. AstraZeneca, a Catalent client, is strengthening its
internal capacity to reduce external dependence, aiming for
autonomy and continuity in drug production.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) – Novo Nordisk is
preparing to launch a revolutionary weight loss pill but faces
production challenges. As competitors advance, the company seeks to
balance supply and demand, acknowledging that injections remain an
effective choice for many patients.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla,
is considering layoffs while financial reports show the company is
behind in revenue per employee. While Tesla generated nearly $97
billion in 2023, each employee brought in about $690,000, compared
to more than $1 million from GM (NYSE:GM) and $937,000 from Ford
(NYSE:F).
General Motors (NYSE:GM) – General Motors has
appointed Kurt Kelty, a former Tesla executive, as vice president
of its battery unit. Kelty led battery development at Tesla for 11
years before joining Sila Nanotechnologies. The move comes as GM
expands its battery production capacity to meet the growing demand
for electric vehicles.
Getaround (NYSE:GETR) – San Francisco-based
Getaround plans to lay off about a third of its staff in North
America to cut costs and seek long-term profitability. The
company’s shares are up 3.5% in pre-market trading on Friday.
HSBC (NYSE:HSBC), Alphabet
(NASDAQ:GOOGL) – HSBC partners with Google to finance rapidly
expanding climate tech companies. This alliance, driven by the
Google Cloud Ready-Sustainability program, seeks to accelerate
solutions to climate change, responding to the growing demand for
business innovation and sustainability.
Barclays (NYSE:BCS) – Barclays, the UK’s
leading oil and gas lender, will stop direct financing to new
fossil fuel fields and limit loans to companies expanding this
production, as part of the Transition Financing Framework (TFF).
The move responds to pressure for more sustainable energy policies.
Moreover, Barclays plans to acquire most of Tesco Plc’s banking
business, strengthening its presence in the UK’s retail banking
sector. The transaction includes a £600 million payment and
establishes a 10-year strategic partnership. Barclays CEO CS
Venkatakrishnan faces pressure to present a simplified and
sustainable business plan to shareholders. With shares falling and
a complex business model, there are calls for higher returns.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) – Goldman Sachs is
reducing its presence in Hong Kong, giving up office spaces in Lee
Garden Three, reflecting the trend of global banks cutting costs.
The move adds pressure to an already weakened commercial real
estate market in the city.
Earnings
Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) – The cloud services
provider saw a 26% increase in pre-market trading on Friday.
Cloudflare announced adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share and
revenue of $362 million. Analyst forecasts, according to LSEG, were
for earnings of 12 cents per share and revenue of $353 million.
Additionally, the projection for the full-year adjusted earnings
per share was positive.
Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) – Expedia shares are down
14% after warning of a moderation in revenue in 2024 due to falling
airfare prices. CEO Peter Kern will step down, succeeded by Ariane
Gorin. Fourth-quarter earnings were $1.72 per share on revenue of
$2.887 billion. Gross bookings grew 6%, to $21.672 billion.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY) – Hershey outlined a
two-year restructuring program to save about $300 million before
taxes, following projections below expectations. The company
reported net earnings of $349 million, or earnings of $1.70 per
share, compared to net earnings of $396 million, or earnings of
$1.92 per share, in the same quarter last year. Analysts surveyed
by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of $1.95 per share. Hershey
also increased its quarterly dividend by 15%.
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) – Pinterest forecast
first-quarter revenues below Wall Street estimates, facing strong
competition from major social media players. Fourth-quarter revenue
was $981 million versus $991 million expected, according to LSEG.
EPS was 53 cents per share, adjusted, against the estimate of 51
cents per share. Shares are down -11.4% in pre-market trading.
Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) – Take-Two
shares fell -9.2% in pre-market trading on Friday after the video
game publisher issued a bleak projection for the current quarter.
Additionally, Take-Two slightly missed earnings expectations,
recording 71 cents adjusted per share compared to the 72 cents per
share expected by FactSet.
CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) – Shares of the
bitcoin mining company rose 19.5% in pre-market trading after
reporting better-than-expected results for the first fiscal
quarter. Reported earnings were 14 cents per share, surprising
analysts who expected a 26-cent per share loss, as indicated by
FactSet. Revenue for the quarter reached $73.8 million, exceeding
expectations of $71 million.
Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) – Shares of the genomics
company fell 2.8% after indicating that annual revenues will remain
stable, contrary to analysts’ expectation of a 0.6% increase,
according to LSEG. In the fourth quarter, Illumina exceeded
estimates with an adjusted earnings per share of 14 cents, and its
revenue also exceeded expectations.
Bill Holdings (NYSE:BILL) – In the last fiscal
quarter, Bill reported a net loss of $40.4 million, or 38 cents per
share, compared to a net loss of $95.1 million, or 90 cents per
share, in the same fiscal quarter last year. Sales increased 22%,
totaling $318.5 million, exceeding expectations of $299 million.
Adjusted earnings per share were 63 cents, above expectations. The
company expects annual sales between $1.23 billion and $1.25
billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $2.09 to $2.31,
surpassing expectations. However, cost cuts and economic
uncertainty continue.
Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) – Affirm shares
rose ahead of the earnings report but fell 12% in pre-market
trading on Friday. The company exceeded expectations, but its
conservative outlook disappointed investors, despite raising the
gross merchandise volume (GMV) forecast to over $25.25 billion.
Fiscal second-quarter revenue was $591 million, with net revenue of
$242 million. GMV was $7.5 billion, with net loss reduced to $166.9
million. Projections for the March quarter are for GMV between $5.8
billion and $6.0 billion, with revenues between $205 million and
$215 million, less transaction costs.
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