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☆ Rocket Lab says contract backlog tops $1 billion, outlines Neutron progress toward first launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An Electron rocket launches the Baby Come Back mission from New Zealand on July 17, 2023. Rocket Lab is making steady progress on the development of its Neutron vehicle, as the company reported fourth-quarter results that saw its contract backlog soar above $1 billion. Year over year, Rocket Lab's fourth-quarter net loss widened by about 36% as the company continues to spend heavily to create its Neutron rocket. Shares of Rocket Lab slipped 5% in after-hours trading from its close at $4.71. Rocket Lab forecast first-quarter revenue between $92 million and $98 million.

Persons: Peter Beck Organizations: Revenue, LSEG, Space Development Agency, Rocket Locations: New Zealand

☆ Investing in Space: How bankers read a potential sale of rocket builder ULA
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. It's been widely reported over the last year that ULA parent companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin are considering offloading the rocket business. That's despite the successful debut of ULA's Vulcan rocket in early January, which I assumed would galvanize a sale. In the meantime, I've been curious to understand how ULA's sale is likely to play out. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are, and have been, looking to sell the rocket business for some time.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, It's, Lockheed Martin, ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, hasn't, I've, it's Organizations: Boeing, Lockheed, Origin, Textron, SpaceX, U.S ., Glenn, Vulcan Locations: ULA

☆ Bank of America says this stock is the 'strongest pure-play space name' with the potential to double
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Rocket Lab shares have the potential to take off, according to Bank of America. Analyst Ronald Epstein reiterated his buy rating on the space stock while shaving his price target down by $2 to $10. Epstein's new price target implies the stock could soar 134.2% from Monday's close. After investigating the September mid-flight failure of its Electron rocket, Rocket Lab is aiming to get its launch business back on track by the end of the year. The analyst's price target cut followed a reassessment of the discount rate following the Electron launch snafu.

Persons: Ronald Epstein, Epstein, Bank of America's Epstein, Epstein doesn't, CNBC's Michael Bloom, Michael Sheetz Organizations: Bank of America, Bank of, MDA Locations: Monday's

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Shares of Japan's Panasonic Holdings (6752.T) have rallied about 10% since it announced on Friday a plan to sell a stake in its automotive systems business and the unit's potential listing raised broader restructuring hopes. Over the last decade, Hitachi's shares have more than trebled, when taking into account dividends, compared to a 87% return by Panasonic. Investors reacted positively to the potential sale of the stake in the automotive unit, which makes cockpit and electronics systems. With its plan, Panasonic likely starts a journey to make itself into a company with a higher return on equity, they said. Panasonic's automotive unit is separate from its energy unit that makes batteries for electric vehicles, including those from Tesla (TSLA.O).

Persons: Damian Thong, Thong, Jefferies, Hitachi's, Ulrike Schaede, Daniel Leussink, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Japan's Panasonic Holdings, Apollo Global Management, Panasonic, Hitachi, Macquarie, Investors, University of California San, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Singapore, University of California San Diego

☆ Panasonic plans to sell stake in autos business to Apollo Global funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A logo of Panasonic Corp is pictured at the CEATEC JAPAN 2017 (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Holdings (6752.T) said on Friday it plans to sell a stake in its automotive systems business to funds managed by U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and has signed a memorandum of understanding with an Apollo affiliate. Continued investment in the automotive systems business would be necessary to achieve sustained growth for the company amid a rapid shift to electric cars and changes to vehicle architecture, Panasonic said. The automotive unit makes cockpit and electronics systems. It is separate from Panasonic's energy unit that makes batteries for electric vehicles, including those from Tesla (TSLA.O).

Persons: Toru Hanai, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Panasonic Corp, Advanced Technologies, Makuhari, REUTERS, Rights, Japan's Panasonic Holdings, U.S, Apollo Global Management, Apollo, Panasonic, Thomson Locations: JAPAN, Chiba, Japan, Tokyo

☆ KKR’s Chip Play Will Win Big in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kokusai Electric’s technology and manufacturing center in Toyama, Japan. Photo: Soichiro Koriyama/Bloomberg NewsPrivate-equity giant KKR has scored a win in Japan, and with a chip price rebound probably around the corner, their timing looks impeccable. Semiconductor equipment maker Kokusai Electric will start trading Wednesday in Tokyo after raising around $720 million in an initial public offering last week. Kokusai is valued at $2.8 billion at its IPO price, potentially netting KKR a return of more than 60% in Japanese yen terms, excluding leverage. Kokusai unloaded its video and communications systems business after KKR’s takeover.

Persons: Soichiro Koriyama Organizations: Bloomberg, Private, KKR, Semiconductor, Kokusai, Dealogic, Hitachi — Locations: Toyama, Japan, Tokyo

☆ Top Wall Street analysts believe in the long-term potential of these stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In this article COSTMUINTCMETAAMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTAn Amazon delivery truck at the Amazon facility in Poway, California, Nov. 16, 2022. Investors seeking a sense of direction can turn to analysts who identify companies that have lucrative long-term prospects and the ability to navigate near-term pressures. To that end, here are five stocks favored by Wall Street's top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth noted the recent sell-off in AMZN stock and highlighted certain investor concerns. Also on investors' mind is Amazon Web Services' growth, with multiple third-party data sources indicating a slowdown in September.

Persons: Sandy Huffaker, Wall, Doug Anmuth, Anmuth, TipRanks, Needham, Quinn Bolton, Bolton, Sidney Ho, Ho Organizations: MU, Reuters Investors, Investors, JPMorgan, Federal Trade, Meta, Meta Connect, Intel, Systems Business, PSG, Bolton, TipRanks, Micron Technology, Deutsche Bank, Micron, Costco Locations: Poway , California

☆ Wall Street praises Rocket Lab's performance and sees stock climbing: 'Yet another strong quarter'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Wall Street was largely effusive about Rocket Lab's execution and growth, as analysts reacted to the space company's second-quarter results from Tuesday. Rocket Lab stock slid about 4% in early trading on Wednesday, after rising as much as 10% in premarket, from its previous close at $6.66 a share. Here's what analysts had to say about Rocket Lab's performance. Morgan Stanley — Overweight, $10 price target The firm's Kristine Liwag believes Rocket Lab stock "still has room to run" despite climbing about 70% so far this year. Roth Capital – Buy, $10 price target Analyst Suji Desilva also emphasized Rocket Lab's "steady launch execution" and expansion toward becoming an "end-to-end vendor" in the space market.

Persons: Ron Epstein, Epstein, Edison Yu, Morgan Stanley —, Kristine Liwag, Liwag, Stifel, Erik Rasmussen, Rasmussen, Roth, Suji Desilva, Jason Gursky, Gursky, Michael Bloom Organizations: Rocket, Bank of America, Deutsche, Citi Locations: premarket, U.S

☆ Rocket Lab results match Wall Street estimates, company adds contracts for 10 launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rocket Lab on Tuesday reported second-quarter results that largely met Wall Street's expectations, and the company said it added contracts for 10 more launches in 2023 and 2024. Revenue grew 12% year over year in the second quarter to $62 million, versus $61.8 million expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Rocket Lab's launch business saw $22.5 million in revenue in the second quarter, while its space systems unit brought in $39.6 million. For the third quarter, Rocket Lab expects revenue to grow to between $73 million and $77 million. Beck told CNBC that Archimedes features "new manufacturing technologies" that Rocket Lab "hasn't really disclosed in any great detail."

Persons: Peter Beck, Adam Spice, Spice, Beck Organizations: Refinitiv, Revenue, Rocket, Lab, CNBC Locations: Virginia

☆ Payments processor FIS to sell stake in merchant unit to GTCR for $11.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Fidelity National Information Services (FIS.N) is selling a majority stake in its merchant business to private equity firm GTCR, the payments processor said on Thursday, in a deal that will fetch $11.7 billion. The company built its merchant business through a $43-billion purchase of Worldpay in 2019. As part of the deal, the private equity has committed an additional investment of up to $1.25 billion in Worldpay. Reuters had earlier this week reported that GTCR was in advanced talks for a majority stake in the merchant business. Charles Drucker, former CEO of Worldpay, will lead the merchant business after the spinoff, FIS said.

Persons: GTCR, Charles Drucker, Niket Nishant, Manya, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Fidelity National Information Services, FIS, GTCR, Reuters, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: Worldpay, Bengaluru

Worldpay comprises the bulk of the FIS merchant business, which processes payments for companies. GTCR's offer prevailed over Advent International, another buyout firm that was also vying for the business, the sources said. If the negotiations conclude successfully in the coming days, FIS plans to keep a minority stake in the business, the sources said. FIS, which started in 1968 and serves big financial services corporations, has cut thousands of jobs since the review began. Chicago-based GTCR manages more than $35 billion in assets and invests across sectors, including financial services.

Persons: GTCR, Johnson, Kellogg, Shaw, Jana, Anirban Sen, David French, Milana, Greg Roumeliotis, Richard Chang Organizations: YORK, GTCR, Fidelity National Information Services, FIS, International, Financial Times, General Electric Co, Toshiba Corp, Jana Partners, Reuters, Black Knight Inc, Global, Service, Thomson Locations: Worldpay, Jacksonville , Florida, Chicago, New York

☆ Bosch looks to growth in cars, heating systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Robert Bosch GmbH FollowFRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) - German technology group Robert Bosch expects 6% to 9% revenue growth this year from 88.2 billion euros ($97.49 billion) in 2022 and an EBIT margin of 5%, up from 4.3% last year, it said on Thursday thanks to growth in both its cars and heating systems businesses. The transformation of energy systems to protect the climate creates business potential, Bosch Chief Executive Stefan Hartung said, making clear that opportunities lay in both the electrification of cars and heating systems. "Growth is not only on the road, even though we are very successful there," he said. ($1 = 0.9047 euros)Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach Writing by Madeline Chambers Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apollo to take aerospace supplier Arconic private in $5.2 billion deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Pratyush Thakur | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Arconic Corp (ARNC.N) has agreed to be bought by Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) in a take-private deal valued at about $5.2 billion, the U.S. aerospace supplier said on Thursday. Apollo will pay $30 for each Arconic share held, representing a premium of 35.6% as of close on Feb. 27, a day before reports of deal talks emerged. The company, which supplies to Boeing Co (BA.N), had rebuffed an almost $10 billion offer from Apollo in 2018. Two years later, the company split into two publicly traded firms, Arconic Corp and Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM.N). Arconic retained rolled products, aluminum extrusions, and building and construction systems business, while the engine products, fastening systems and forged wheels businesses were spun off to Howmet.

☆ Qualcomm announces software business around its supply chain chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) on Tuesday said it is launching a paid cloud software service to help companies that use its chips keep tabs on goods as they move through the supply chain. The San Diego, California company is the world's biggest provider of chips that help smartphones connect to mobile data networks. Qualcomm Aware, as the new service is called, works with Qualcomm chips that go into tracking devices for shipping containers, pallets, packages and other parts of supply chains to help companies track where their goods and materials are. The software service announced Tuesday aims to let Qualcomm customers program their chips from one central spot, with updates sent to the chips over the air. "We believe there's value in the chip and in the cloud service," Torrance told Reuters.

☆ Toshiba warns on profit after Q3 slump; COO resigns over expenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Toshiba Corp FollowTOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) slashed its annual earnings estimate after third-quarter profit slumped, while its chief operating officer resigned over the inappropriate use of entertainment expenses some years ago. Hit by weak demand for hard disk drives due to reduced investments in data, Toshiba said quarterly operating profit tumbled 88% to 5.3 billion yen ($40.4 million), far less than a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 37 billion yen. The industrial conglomerate also took a large charge relating to an old project for its power generation systems business. Its profit estimate for the year ending in March was cut by a quarter to 95 billion yen. Toshiba said COO Goro Yanase had resigned over the inappropriate use of entertainment expenses in 2019 when he was an executive at a company unit.

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Banking and payments processing conglomerate Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS.N) took a $17.6 billion write-down on its merchant business as it unveiled plans on Monday to spin it off, undoing a $43 billion acquisition that went sour. FIS built its merchant business, which processes transactions for companies, on the back of its $43 billion purchase of WorldPay four years ago. "The pace of disruption in payments is rapidly accelerating, requiring increased investment in growth and a different capital allocation strategy for our merchant solutions business," FIS Chairman Jeffrey Goldstein said in a statement. Charles Drucker, the former CEO of Worldpay, will lead the merchants business after it is spun out, FIS said. Merchant solutions makes up about 30% of FIS' revenue, while its banking solutions arm constitutes about 46%, and capital market solutions the remainder.

FIS plans to pursue a tax-free spin-off of its merchant business, which processes payments for companies, the sources said. The spin-off will take many months to be completed, and FIS will also entertain any acquisition offers for the unit during this period, the sources added. Much of FIS's merchant business consists of Worldpay, which it bought for $43 billion in 2019. The sources cautioned that no transaction is certain and asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Merchant solutions makes up about 30% of the company's revenue, while its banking solutions arm constitutes about 46%, and capital market solutions the remainder.

☆ Rolls-Royce alarm is justified, if oddly expressed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rolls-Royce's (RR.L) new boss Tufan Erginbilgic has the right sentiments, but arguably the wrong words. Cue a 4% drop in Rolls’ share price. In fairness, the Turkish-British national’s alarm is justified. Rolls is a bit like that: its share price has dropped 70% since 2014. JPMorgan reckons the sum of its parts implies an equity value of only 70 pence a share, 30% below the current share price.

☆ Texas Instruments signals expanding pain for chipmakers with somber forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Texas Instruments (TXN.O) forecast first-quarter revenue and profit largely below Wall Street targets on Tuesday, as an economic downturn threatens to shackle demand from the chipmaker's so far resilient markets. Order cancellations rose during the fourth quarter, head of investor relations Dave Pahl told analysts in an earnings call. Total revenue fell 3% to $4.67 billion in the quarter, compared with estimates of $4.62 billion. Texas Instruments expects revenue of $4.17 billion to $4.53 billion in the first quarter, the mid-point of which is lower than estimates of $4.41 billion, according to Refinitiv data. It expects current-quarter earnings per share between $1.64 and $1.90, the mid-point of which also fell short of expectations of $1.87.

Baker is the first oilfield services firm to report quarterly results, and its beat bodes well for rivals Schlumberger (SLB.N) and Halliburton (HAL.N), both of which report in coming days. On an adjusted basis, Baker Hughes posted a profit of $264 million, or 26 cents a share, up from $141 million a year earlier. The profit topped analysts' forecasts for around 24 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data. The company anticipates double-digit revenue growth in its international oilfield services business in 2023 and modest growth in its North America business, driven largely by public firms. Its oilfield business segments accounted for about 63% of its revenue during the quarter through September.

☆ Cathie Wood's Ark is buying stock in space SPAC Rocket Lab
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest is dipping back into a space SPAC, with two of the firm's funds buying up stock in Rocket Lab the past two days. Ark's exchange-traded funds ARKQ and ARKX – which focus on autonomous technology and space exploration, respectively – bought about 729,000 shares of Rocket Lab in trades on Monday and Tuesday, the firm disclosed. While Ark's Rocket Lab position is relatively small, worth about $3 million total, the purchases mark the first recent space SPAC stock the firm has owned since selling its position in Virgin Galactic in May 2021. The purchases by Wood's firm also follow Rocket Lab hosting an investor day in New York, where it gave updates on the progress of its Electron and Neutron rockets, as well as its space systems businessRocket Lab stock was up 3% in trading on Wednesday from its previous close of $4.19 a share. Like many of its space SPAC peers, Rocket Lab shares have been hit hard of late, falling about 72% over the past 12 months.

☆ Tesla aims to revitalize its solar energy and storage business this year after 2019 slump
▼ + stars: | 2020-02-14 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk reveals prototypes of the Tesla Solar Roof on October 28, 2016 TeslaEven with a record fourth quarter for its solar energy and storage systems business, Tesla's energy revenue declined by over $24 million in 2019, after several rounds of layoffs that started the prior year. Tesla said, in its annual financial report on Thursday, that it's ramping up solar photovoltaic production at its plant in Buffalo, New York. "We have recently started manufacturing solar panels at this facility in collaboration with Panasonic," the filing states. Since the acquisition, solar energy has been a relatively small and dwindling business for Tesla, in part because of delays in manufacturing and a longer development cycle than expected. Musk said last March that 2019 would be the "year of the solar roof."

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