DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ EA Shows Why Mobile Games Are a Minefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When one of the biggest videogame makers in the business gets hung up in the mobile end of the market, it can say something for the whole industry. With annual revenue now over $7 billion, Electronic Arts is the largest stand-alone game publisher in the U.S. save for Activision Blizzard . EA also has a few games capable of generating more than $1 billion a year on their own, including “Apex Legends.” The battle-royale style shooter was EA’s answer to the blockbuster “Fortnite” and has been a resounding success since its surprise launch in 2019 for consoles and PCs. Analysts estimate the game’s total revenue has surpassed that of “Madden NFL” to become EA’s second-biggest property next to the blockbuster soccer franchise “FIFA,” according to Visible Alpha.

“The small miss on Microsoft’s cloud earnings forecast is likely just a reflection of the new economic reality that businesses are facing and not a harbinger of something worse," said Bob O'Donnell, chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research. It forecast third-quarter revenue in its so-called intelligent cloud business would be $21.7 billion to $22 billion, just below the analyst average forecast of $22.14 billion, according to Refinitiv. He said revenue from OpenAI-related businesses would show up in revenue for Microsoft's cloud service Azure in the future. Azure cloud product revenue in the second quarter rose 31%, in line with estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. The company expects that revenue to drop to $11.9 billion to $12.3 billion in the current fiscal third quarter.

Microsoft said its third-quarter intelligent cloud revenue would be $21.7 billion to $22 billion, while analysts forecast $22.14 billion. In the second quarter, Microsoft's cloud services business helped offset a slump in the personal computer market. Azure has also steadily grabbed market share from leader Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) Amazon Web Services (AWS). Azure ended 2022 with 30% share in the cloud computing market, up from 20% in 2018, according to estimates from BofA Global Research. Microsoft's revenue rose 2% to $52.7 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with the average analyst estimate of $52.94 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES.

☆ Microsoft's profit beats estimates on strong cloud performance
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight/File PhotoJan 24 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as strong performance at its cloud services business helped offset a slump in the personal computer market, sending its shares 4% higher in extended trading. Azure has also steadily grabbed market share from leader Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) Amazon Web Services (AWS). Azure ended 2022 with 30% share in the cloud computing market, up from 20% in 2018, according to estimates from BofA Global Research. Sales at Microsoft's More Personal Computing segment, which includes Windows, devices and search revenue, declined 19% to $14.2 billion as the PC market continued to shrink. Microsoft's revenue rose 2% to $52.7 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with the average analyst estimate of $52.94 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES.

☆ Tesla's slowing sales, shrinking margins in focus in EV price war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Akash Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Net profit is set to increase at its slowest rate in three years, according to Refinitiv estimates. Reuters GraphicsThere are some early signs that the price cuts are working, with Chinese EV makers XPeng and Seres (601127.SS) slashing prices of their EVs in response and data showing a surge in Tesla's China sales. There was also an uptick in U.S. orders for Tesla vehicles in December after the company rolled out the cuts, according to YipitData. WALL STREET SENTIMENT* Of the 42 analysts covering the company, 25 rate the stock "buy" or higher, 12 rate it "hold" and five rate it "sell" or lower. Tesla's shares, which have more than halved in the past 12 months, closed at $143.75 on Monday.

[1/2] Attendees walk through an expo hall at AWS re:Invent 2022, a conference hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., November 30, 2022. After years of blistering growth, most recently fuelled by remote working and studying during the pandemic, cloud demand has cooled in the past nine months and sales growth may slow further, analysts said. AWS, Amazon's lucrative cloud business from which it gets more than a quarter of its revenue, is expected to post a 24% increase in sales in the quarter. THE FUNDAMENTALS* Microsoft Q2 revenue is expected to rise 2.5% to $53 billion, the slowest increase in six years. * Amazon Q4 revenue is expected to rise 5.8% to $145.40 billion.

☆ Rio Tinto sees increased volatility as China reopens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) on Tuesday said that China's reopening from COVID-19 restrictions is set to raise near-term risks of labour and supply-chain shortages, while it also flagged a strong start to iron ore shipments for 2023. Rio looks set to retain its crown as the world's biggest iron ore producer as quarterly iron ore shipments came in slightly ahead of expectations, near the bottom of the year's guidance. "It's good to see they made their iron ore guidance. Iron ore shipments for the final quarter of 2022 rose 3.8% to 87.3 million tonnes (Mt), bringing full-year shipments to 321.6 Mt, which beat a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 320.2 Mt. Rio Tinto maintained its full-year iron ore shipments forecast of 320 Mt to 335 Mt.

☆ Conagra Is Your Food Value Play for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Aaron Back | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

American food companies had a strong 2022. One relative laggard in the sector, Conagra Brands, looks positioned to break out this year. The company, which owns brands such as Birds Eye frozen vegetables, Hunt’s tomato products and Reddi Wip, reported strong results on Thursday. Organic sales, which strip out currency fluctuations and merger impacts, rose 8.6% from a year earlier in the company’s second fiscal quarter, which ended on Nov. 27. That was just ahead of analyst expectations for an 8.4% rise, according to Visible Alpha.

☆ Nike’s Inventory Problem: Passing It Along
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nike said Tuesday that revenue on a currency-neutral basis was up 28% in its fiscal second quarter compared with a year ago. Nike not only scored big last quarter, but it also made some great strategic passes. There was a lot to like in Nike’s latest performance: The company said on Tuesday that revenue was up 28% on a currency-neutral basis in its fiscal quarter ended Nov. 30 compared with a year earlier. Impressively, its sales growth is only slightly behind that of Lululemon , which is growing off a revenue base that is just 14% of Nike’s. Net income was flat compared with a year earlier, much better than the 23% decline Wall Street was penciling in.

☆ General Mills Gets Bitten in Pet Food Mishap
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Aaron Back | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Mills’ pet segment sales were flat from a year earlier, while analysts had expected growth of 13%. Owning a pet means dealing with accidents. So too can owning a pet food brand. General Mills ‘ otherwise solid results on Tuesday were spoiled by a hiccup in pet food sales. The company also raised its guidance for organic sales and adjusted earnings per share for the full fiscal year.

☆ Chewy’s Online Pet Dominance Could Lose Its Bite
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chewy remains the dominant pet e-commerce player, capturing roughly 40% of the market, according to a MoffettNathanson estimate. The online pet kingdom is no longer a free pasture for Chewy . Chewy said Thursday that revenue rose 14.5% from a year earlier in its quarter ended Oct. 30, better than the 10.8% that Wall Street analysts polled by Visible Alpha were expecting. That breaks a streak of six consecutive quarters of slowing year-over-year revenue growth, and easily tops Petco ‘s 4% growth. Chewy turned a profit of $2.3 million, a pleasant surprise compared with the $33 million loss analysts were penciling in.

☆ What to watch for as J&J gets ready to split into two separate companies next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

During Monday's "Morning Meeting" for members, Jim Cramer said that J & J has the "best balance sheet in America." According to projections from J & J and rival Medtronic (MDT), the robotics market captures a low 2% to 3% of global procedures. In an economic slowdown, J & J is a solid name to own that can outperform the broader market. We also like that J & J has consistently raised its dividend. We rate J & J a 1 for the Club , meaning we would buy the stock at current levels given it aligns with our strategy.

Organizations: & $

☆ Kroger Needs to Up Its E-Commerce Game
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kroger’s same-store sales growth lags behind that of big-box retailers and some peers. Kroger isn’t exactly dominating the grocery space today. That presents a mixed bag for investors to sort through. The supermarket giant had another solid quarter, with identical-store sales—excluding fuel—up 6.9% in its quarter ended Nov. 5 compared with a year earlier. That was much better than the 4.4% increase analysts polled by Visible Alpha were expecting.

☆ Kroger Needs to Up its E-Commerce Game
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Big Pharma will muscle in on obesity gold rush
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Obesity drugs are a modern day gold rush for drugmakers. By then, the obesity market could total $50 billion, according to Morgan Stanley. But a plausible 50% price cut would lower annual sales to $25 billion. Reuters GraphicsFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSSales of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drugs Wegovy and Saxenda reached nearly $1.2 billion in 2021, up 50% versus the previous year. Morgan Stanley analysts expect the obesity market to grow to $50 billion in annual sales by 2030.

A sour mixture of manufacturing hiccups, Chinese Covid lockdowns and other issues have watered down Oatly’s once-heady growth rates. On that basis, the company could exhaust its $116 million cash pile early next year. Petersson has announced layoffs and other cost-cutting measures, which he hopes will save $50 million in annual terms. And even if he finds a manufacturing partner soon, it’s unlikely to stop the company burning cash. That leaves Petersson two options: sell the company, or raise cash.

☆ SocGen’s BNP envy carries a cost
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It mimics BNP Paribas’s (BNPP.PA) deal with European peer Exane, which the French group took over last year. SocGen research analysts cover around 500 mostly European stocks, according to JPMorgan, compared with AllianceBernstein’s more international coverage of roughly 800 companies. Second, the venture makes the French bank’s equities business less reliant on derivatives and structured products, which led to heavy losses in 2020. Trading cash equities and selling research typically chews up much less capital and leads to fewer blow-ups. And the wider equities trading business is increasingly dominated by larger players, especially U.S. banks.

☆ Off-Price Is Thriving on Inventory Bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Off-price retailers such as Ross Stores have managed to raise prices, in contrast with department stores and big-box retailers that are discounting heavily. Retailers’ inventory nightmare is turning out to be the stuff of off-price retailers’ dreams. Off-price retailers TJX Companies Inc., owner of T.J. Maxx, and Ross Stores Inc. are seeing much healthier demand than others selling clothes and home-related products. TJX said that U.S. comparable sales at Marmaxx, a unit that houses T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, rose 3% in its quarter ended Oct. 29 compared with a year earlier. Notably, TJX called out strong apparel sales, proving that consumers will still shell out for discretionary purchases for the right brand and price.

☆ Nightmare Before Christmas for Department Stores
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Department stores cozied up to shoppers with early holiday deals, only to be met with cold shoulders. Will they have a late Christmas or none at all? Macy’s and Kohl’s both met tempered expectations in their respective quarterly reports ahead of the all-important holiday selling season. Macy’s, which also owns Bloomingdale’s, saw comparable-store sales at owned stores decline 3.1% in its quarter ended Oct. 29, which was better than the 4.3% decline Wall Street analysts polled by Visible Alpha were penciling in. Kohl’s saw comparable-store sales decline 6.9% over the same period, in line with its recent guidance.

☆ Walmart Keeps the Registers Ringing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Everybody likes Walmart Inc.’s everyday low prices. But can Walmart keep everybody on board? The big-box retailer said on Tuesday that comparable-store sales at Walmart U.S. grew 8.2% in the quarter ended Oct. 28, well ahead of the 3.4% increase Wall Street analysts polled by Visible Alpha were penciling in. While Walmart turned to a net loss last quarter, that was due to a $3.3 billion charge related to opioid legal settlements. Excluding one-off charges and the effect of currency fluctuations, Walmart’s operating income grew by an impressive 4.6% last quarter.

☆ Carvana’s Rose-Tinted Windshield Is Dangerous
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Between slowing used-car demand and rising interest rates, online used-car seller Carvana is navigating some perilous conditions. Carvana said on Thursday that it sold 102,570 used vehicles to retail customers in the third quarter, 8% fewer than a year earlier. Wall Street analysts polled by Visible Alpha were expecting a flat number. CarMax , a much larger seller of used vehicles, reported a milder (6.4%) year-over-year decline in its last quarter ended Aug. 31. The company’s shares fell nearly 11% in after-hours trading following the earnings call, bringing its year-to-date decline to 95%.

☆ Etsy Could Come Bearing Gifts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Etsy , which does exactly that, might be thriving because of (not despite) that niche. Etsy on Wednesday reported that its gross merchandise sales declined by 3.3% in the third quarter from a year earlier—better than the 5.5% decline that analysts polled by Visible Alpha were expecting. It was also milder than the 11% drop eBay reported on the same day. The only nit to pick was a $1 billion impairment Etsy took on Depop and Elo7—acquisitions it made last year when e-commerce companies were commanding premium valuations. That impairment caused a net loss for the quarter.

☆ EV maker Nikola beats revenue estimates on higher semi-truck deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) beat Wall Street expectation for third-quarter revenue on Thursday as it delivered more electric semi-trucks to dealers, sending its shares up about 3% higher before the bell. The company has been benefiting from a shift to electric trucks by logistic companies looking to cut ownership costs and meet sustainability goals. It produced 75 Tre battery electric trucks but delivered only 63 units in the quarter. The company has so far this year delivered 111 trucks and had earlier said it expects to deliver between 300 and 500 units in 2022. Revenue for the quarter stood at $24.2 million, beating estimates of $22.1 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Cloud services for years has been one of the largest and most dependable sources of growth for some of the biggest tech companies, including during the pandemic as people worked and studied from home. Growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), the firm's lucrative cloud unit serving enterprises, has ticked down consistently in the past four quarters, adjusted for changes in forex. "The AWS slowdown is a clear sign that businesses are beginning to trim costs, so this will likely put more of a squeeze on Amazon's bottom line in the coming quarters," said Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence. Alphabet's Google Cloud revenue grew 38% in the quarter, beating estimates. Cloud services typically help companies save money so budget cuts in this sector could be especially worrying, indicating that companies think cost is king going into tougher times.

☆ Chipmaker STMicro sees sales growth slowdown in fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bigger rival Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.O) earlier this week that it expected demand across most of its end markets to decline, while South Korea's SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS) warned of an "unprecedented deterioration" in memory chip demand. STMicro said it expected fourth-quarter sales to edge up by 1.8% from the previous quarter to about $4.4 billion. Co-controlled by the Italian and French governments, STMicro said demand rose across all its products in the third quarter, beating market expectations. Net revenue in the third quarter rose to $4.32 billion, above the company's own guidance and the $4.24 billion analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Subhranshu Sahu and Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Visible Alpha"

25 mentions found