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☆ Tesla invests $3.6 bln to expand Nevada complex with two factories
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Tuesday it would invest more than $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada manufacturing complex with two new factories, including the first facility to mass produce its long-delayed Semi electric truck. The 18-wheeler truck has a range of 500 miles on a single charge and can carry 81,000 pounds including the cargo. Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm said in November that Tesla might produce 100 Semis in 2022, but the company did not disclose any figure in its fourth-quarter production report. The EV maker aims to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024, Musk had said on a post-earnings call in October. Reporting by Akash Sriram and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[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.

☆ Analysis: Tesla's price cuts promise more pain for money-losing U.S. EV startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Akash Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla's move will "strengthen their ... competitive advantage over other automakers," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said. 'GAME OF THRONES' FOR EV STARTUPSBoth Rivian and Lucid have yet to turn a profit. Reuters GraphicsStill, Rivian had $13.8 billion in cash at the end of the third quarter - the most among the U.S. EV startups. "It's a 'Game of Thrones' battle for EV startups and they face some dire options over the next 12 to 18 months if they do not succeed in their financial targets," said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives. Rivian sells its R1T pickup truck at a starting price of $73,000 while its R1S SUV starts at $78,000.

☆ Netflix's ability to churn out hits gives it an edge over rivals -analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

read moreAt least 18 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock as they cheered Netflix's 7.66 million subscribers additions that easily beat estimates of 4.57 million. "Content performance is underpinning all aspects of financial improvement and helps investors sleep better," Wells Fargo analysts said, adding that double-digit revenue growth could be achievable in the second half of the year. The company said it would roll out features this quarter to try and convert more password sharers to paying subscriber. But the company expects increased engagement and monetization after a short period of churn. Reporting by Aditya Soni, Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Netflix set for slowest revenue growth as ad plan struggles to gain traction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Eva Mathews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Bing GuanJan 17 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) is expected to report its slowest quarterly revenue growth on Thursday as its ad-supported plan struggles to attract customers in the saturating U.S. market, which could pressure the company to pull back on content spending this year. "Given current interest rates, Netflix will have to be very selective about green-lighting content and how they would finance it." It returned to subscriber growth in the third quarter, but its stock, an investor favorite during its years of rapid growth, still ended the year with a drop of more than 50%. "As overall streaming growth flattens out, most of the more mature streaming platforms have leveled off as well," MoffettNathanson said, adding that Netflix's reach fell by 200 basis points in the quarter. Reuters GraphicsStill, some analysts believe that the ad-supported plan will pay off in the long run, especially in developing markets, where spending power is weaker.

☆ Disney says Peltz 'lacks skills' to help business as proxy battle heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Peltz does not understand Disney's businesses and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem," Disney said. Peltz told CNBC on Thursday that Disney should either jettison the streaming business or buy the rest of rival streaming service Hulu. Disney also needs to boost capital expenditure at its parks business, where it probably raised ticket prices "too hard," he said then. In its statement on Tuesday, Disney said it was already working to improve profitability at the Disney+ streaming business that Iger helped launch in 2019 and was rolling out broader cost-cutting measures. Unless Peltz settles with Disney, investors will vote this year on whether he should sit on the company's board.

The tussle with Disney could be Peltz's biggest proxy battle since an acrimonious fight to bag a seat on the board of Tide detergent-maker P&G (PG.N). During his more than three-year tenure on P&G's board, the firm's stock price rose nearly 80%. Peltz's Trian Fund Management on Thursday filed documents with the U.S. securities regulator for his election as a director after Disney denied him a board seat. "Iger is a well-liked CEO, not only within Disney and its employees but also in Hollywood and the stock market. Investors will vote later this year on whether Peltz should sit on the company's board, unless it's settled before.

☆ Activist investor Peltz kicks off battle for Disney board seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. The prominent activist investor's Trian Fund Management on Thursday filed documents with the U.S. securities regulator for his election as a director at Disney after the company denied him a board seat. "Peltz -- with a change-maker history at targets including P&G, Heinz, and Wendy's -- could provide a measure of that." Trian Fund Management owns roughly $900 million worth of Disney stock, which equates to about 0.5% stake, under the disclosure threshold of 5%. Sources familiar with Disney have said he has only leveled criticisms without offering possible solutions.

☆ Microsoft in talks to invest $10 bln in ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, Semafor reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is in talks to invest $10 billion in ChatGPT-owner OpenAI as part of funding that will value the firm at $29 billion, Semafor reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The software giant had in 2019 invested $1 billion in OpenAI, founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman. Microsoft last year unveiled plans to integrate image-generation software from OpenAI into its search engine Bing. According to Semafor, Microsoft will also get 75% of OpenAI's profits until it recoups its initial investment. After hitting that threshold, Microsoft would have a 49% stake in OpenAI, with other investors taking another 49% and OpenAI's nonprofit parent getting 2%, Semafor said.

Tuesday's slide knocked off nearly $50 billion in market value, roughly equal to the valuation of rival Ford Motor Co (F.N), which last year sold three times as many cars as Tesla. The sell-off came after Tesla missed market expectations for fourth-quarter deliveries despite shipping a record number of vehicles. Tesla's market value has declined by about $370 billion since Chief Executive Elon Musk closed the deal to buy social media firm Twitter. Tesla shares biggest loser among Big Tech Tesla shares biggest loser among Big Tech since AprilTesla delivered 405,278 vehicles in the fourth quarter, short of analysts' estimates of 431,117. The gap between production and deliveries has widened to 34,000 vehicles as more cars got stuck in transit.

☆ Tesla shares start 2023 lower on worries over weak demand, logistical issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares kicked off 2023 with a 5% drop on Tuesday, extending a selloff from last year on growing worries about weakening demand and logistical problems that have hampered deliveries. The latest slide came after the world's most valuable automaker missed estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries despite shipping a record number of vehicles. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker were trading at $117 before the bell, after losing 65% of their market value in 2022, their worst year on record. The company, which had a peak market capitalization of more than $1 trillion, now has a valuation of about $390 billion. That still makes it the world's most valuable automaker, even though its production is a fraction of rivals such as Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T).

☆ Media mogul Bloomberg eyes Dow Jones or Washington Post acquisition, no talks yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

According to the Axios report, Bloomberg sees News Corp-owned (NWSA.O) Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos was interested in selling. Bloomberg L.P., the Washington Post and Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. "The transaction would be challenged only if the resulting choices leave insufficient competition in the market for either users or suppliers. In October, Rupert Murdoch had started a process that could reunite his media empire, News Corp and Fox Corp (FOXA.O), nearly a decade after the companies split. Reuters competes with Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., as a provider of financial news.

A spokesperson for the Washington Post, which Bezos bought in 2013 for $250 million, said it is not for sale. "A Bloomberg acquisition of the (Post) is not necessarily just a business decision. According to Axios, Bloomberg sees Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Bezos was interested in selling. Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reuters competes with Dow Jones and Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., a provider of financial news.

☆ Media mogul Michael Bloomberg looking to buy Dow Jones or Washington Post- Axios
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the owner of Bloomberg L.P., is interested in acquiring either Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones or the Washington Post, news website Axios reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter. According to the Axios report, Bloomberg sees News Corp-owned (NWSA.O) Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos was interested in selling. Bloomberg L.P., the Washington Post and Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. In October, Rupert Murdoch had started a process that could reunite his media empire, News Corp and Fox Corp (FOXA.O), nearly a decade after the companies split. Reuters competes with Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., as a provider of financial news.

☆ Crowdstrike Holdings warning sparks selloff in cybersecurity stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - A warning from Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (CRWD.O) that clients were cutting back on spending and delaying purchases due to an economic slowdown slammed cybersecurity stocks on Wednesday, inflicting fresh pain on the battered sector. "Increased macroeconomic headwinds elongated sales cycles with smaller customers and caused some larger customers to pursue multi-phase subscription start dates," Crowdstrike Chief Executive Officer George Kurtz said. The results are the latest in a series of dour reports from cybersecurity firms, whose business boomed during the pandemic but is now seeing a slowdown, making them a hot target for private equity buyouts. "Resilient, but not immune is a theme that will likely dominate the narrative during our October quarter-cohort earnings cycle," Piper Sandler analysts said. Still, some analysts see long-term benefits from the rising demand for cybersecurity as more businesses take to the web and high-profile hacks force companies to be more cautious.

☆ Meta executive says holiday sales were earlier and bigger this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - The head of Meta Platforms' (META.O) business group said on Wednesday that the holiday shopping season started earlier than usual this year and produced a Black Friday sales weekend that appeared to be the biggest on record. Consumers anxious about supply shortages were stocking up early on desired gifts, while businesses with excess inventory sought to clear it out with heavy discounts, said Meta Vice President of Global Business Nicola Mendelsohn, speaking in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference. The holiday ad sales could be a welcome respite for Meta, which has been struggling this year as advertisers and consumers pulled the plug on spending amid soaring costs and rapidly rising interest rates. [1/3] Vice President for the Global Business group at Meta Nicola Mendelsohn speaks during a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, U.S., November 30, 2022. To view the Reuters NEXT conference live on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, please click hereReporting by Katie Paul and Aditya Soni; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Foxconn unrest risks iPhone shipments, weighs on Apple shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Yimou Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Apple shares were down 1.9% in late morning trade on Friday, while the benchmark Nasdaq index was down 0.3%. LOWER SHIPMENTSKGI Securities analyst Christine Wang said if the current issue lasts through December, around 10 million units of iPhone production will be lost, which translates to 12% lower iPhone shipment in the last quarter of 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang 1 2Wedbush Securities estimates many Apple stores now have 25% to 30% fewer iPhone 14 Pros than normal heading into the holiday shopping season. In a statement on Nov. 7, Apple said it expected lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated. Another Foxconn source familiar with the matter said some new hires had left the campus but did not elaborate on how many.

☆ Zoom shares down 90% from peak as pandemic boom fades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O) have tumbled about 90% from their pandemic peak in October 2020 as the former investor darling struggles to adjust to a post-COVID world. The stock was down 9% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company cut its annual sales forecast and posted its slowest quarterly growth, prompting at least six brokerages to cut their price targets. Reuters Graphics"Zoom has a fundamental flaw - it has needed to spend heavily to keep hold of market share. Spending to cling onto, rather than grow, market share is never a good place to be and was a sign of trouble ahead," Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said. Competition from Microsoft's Teams and Salesforce's Slack has blunt its edgeReporting by Chavi Mehta and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Disney's Iger may have to cut costs as streaming loses money
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Bob Iger must show Wall Street a new side to his character as he returns to lead Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) by cutting costs and restoring profits in just two years after splurging cash on acquisitions and a streaming business last time round. The entertainment giant shocked investors late on Sunday evening announcing the ouster of Chief Executive Bob Chapek and appointing Iger, 71, to a two-year contract to return the company to growth. read moreThe move evoked other return engagements such as Steve Jobs' return to Apple and Howard Schultz's return to Starbucks in times of crisis. The most immediate target of that could be Disney+, the streaming service that Iger helped launch in 2019. Some brokerages have also raised concern on whether the two-year period Iger has agreed to return for would be enough to transform the business and find a successor.

☆ Amazon laid off some devices unit staff as it targets 10,000 cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon executive Dave Limp in a blog post said the company had decided to consolidate teams in its devices unit, which popularized speakers that consumers command through speech. At the time, Amazon touted sales of more than 100 million Alexa devices, a figure it has not since refreshed publicly. Founder Jeff Bezos later said the company often sold Alexa devices at a discount and sometimes below cost. For Amazon, the cuts sharply contrast with efforts months ago to double its base pay ceiling to compete more aggressively for talent. Under his tenure Amazon announced the end of its virtual healthcare service for employers and pruning of its much-hyped autonomous sidewalk delivery program.

☆ Micron to supply fewer memory chips in 2023, plans fresh capex cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Micron was the first major chipmaker to sound an alarm about falling demand for personal computers and smartphones earlier this year in the face of decades-high inflation. "In order to significantly improve total inventory ... DRAM bit supply will need to shrink and NAND bit supply growth will need to be significantly lower than previous estimates," the company said. Widespread supply and capex cuts typically denote a bottom for the memory industry and is a good sign, Wedbush Securities analyst Matt Bryson wrote in a note on Wednesday. But he said there is potential for a longer demand trough that would likely weigh on the broader technology space. For 2023, the company expects its year-on-year bit supply growth to be negative for DRAM and in the single-digit percentage range for NAND.

☆ Amazon starts cost cuts with layoffs at devices, services units
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is laying off employees in its devices and services units, America's second largest private employer informed its staff on Wednesday following recent reports that it would cut around 10,000 jobs. The e-commerce giant did not share details on the number of jobs it will cut or a time period. Some individuals working on Alexa took to networking site LinkedIn on Tuesday saying they have lost their jobs. At the time, Amazon touted sales of more than 100 million Alexa devices, a figure it has not since refreshed publicly. Founder Jeff Bezos later said the company often sold Alexa devices at a discount and sometimes below cost.

"He's probably going to spend more time on Twitter than any Tesla investor feels comfortable about." Sales of Musk's own Tesla shares - totaling $20 billion since he disclosed his Twitter stake - have added to the pressure. "I think he's finally reached a point where he's really challenging himself. 'MINIMAL TIME'The Tesla board has expressed concerns about Musk's commitment to SpaceX and several smaller companies. So I think Tesla would continue to do very well even if I was kidnapped by aliens or went back to my home planet maybe."

☆ Electric vehicle makers burning cash, slammed by sky-high costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Akash Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle is displayed during the 2021 LA Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S. November, 17, 2021. Quarterly reports from electric vehicle (EV) makers from the past two weeks show them struggling to hit delivery targets and rapidly burning through cash. At the end of September, it had $6.8 million in cash and equivalents, down sharply from $415 million a year earlier. Still, higher output would ultimately reduce the cost per car and limiting production can threaten the path to profitability, analysts said. Rivian, backed by Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Ford Motor (F.N), had $13.8 billion cash on hand at the end of September.

☆ Thomson Reuters to buy tax software provider SurePrep for $500 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) said on Friday it would buy SurePrep LLC, a U.S.-based provider of tax automation software and services, for $500 million in cash. The information company has been partnering since April with 20-year-old SurePrep, whose products and solutions are used by more than 23,000 tax professionals. "This transaction builds on our existing partnership/reseller arrangement to deliver our vision of end-to-end tax automation that solves our customers' biggest pain points," said Dave Wyle, Chief Executive of SurePrep. Thomson Reuters, which is the parent of Reuters News, expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2023. Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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