Research Market strategy
By Swissquote Analysts
Themes Trading

Inflation Watch

Markets are enjoying a Goldilocks environment at the moment: not too hot and not too cold.

By
Peter Rosenstreich
Morning News

GM Affirms Profit Outlook Despite Chip-Shortage Woes

General Motors Co. said it expects to hit the high end of its estimated 2021 profit range, as strong pricing and brisk new-vehicle demand helped offset the financial impact of a vexing chip shortage. GM reiterated its guidance Wednesday while reporting first-quarter net profit of $3.02 billion, up from about $300 million a year earlier, when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted operations. The company said the semiconductor shortage will hurt second-quarter output but that it will continue to give priority to its most profitable vehicles, large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles. The nation's largest auto maker by sales said pretax profit adjusted for one-time items hit $4.42 billion, equivalent to $2.25 a share. That beat the $1.05 average estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Morning News

Pfizer's Covid-19 Vaccine Lifts Quarterly Results

Pfizer Inc. said it expects its Covid-19 vaccine to generate about $26 billion in sales this year, a major increase from several months ago that reflects the shot's growing role in the global vaccination campaign. Pfizer rose 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $39.95. The Pfizer vaccine is the most-administered of the three Covid-19 vaccines cleared for use in the U.S. and increasingly is available around the world. Pfizer raised its vaccine sales forecast from $15 billion earlier this year as more countries sign supply agreements. The two-dose shot, which Pfizer developed with BioNTech SE, contributed $3.5 billion to the company's $14.6 billion overall sales during the first three months of the year, Pfizer said. Pfizer and BioNTech are waiting on decisions from U.S. and European regulators, who are considering whether to authorize the vaccine for children as young as 12 years old. Quarterly sales also rose in Pfizer's divisions for oncology, internal medicine and hospital products, along with sales of other drugs in its portfolio.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Morning News

Verizon to Sell Yahoo, AOL for $5 Billion to Apollo

Wireless giant retreats from digital-media sector in deal with private-equity firm: Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to pay about $5 billion to acquire Yahoo and AOL from Verizon Communications Inc. as the wireless company exits its ill-fated foray into the media business. The private-equity firm is paying $4.25 billion in cash for a 90% share of the media assets. Verizon will keep a 10% stake and $750 million of additional preferred stock in the new company, called Yahoo, that will be formed to operate the business. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the potential sale of Verizon’s media assets to Apollo. Verizon Media, which mostly struggled to grow against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., generated $7 billion in revenue last year. Apollo’s strategy for the business revolves around getting more revenue from each of its 900 million active monthly users.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Themes Trading

Epic Battle

Epic Games is taking on Apple in a courtroom challenge that could change the global app economy forever.

By
Peter Rosenstreich
Morning News

GE Continues Selling Down Baker Hughes Stake

General Electric continues to whittle down its stake in Baker Hughes by selling 43.7M shares of the oil and gas company. Based on a price of $20.54 per share, that would theoretically bring in about $900M. GE gave up majority control of the company in 2019 and began a program last year to fully sell down its stake. In a filing, the company said it now has about 267.7M shares remaining, representing about 25.7% of Baker Hughes' shares outstanding. GE had announced in late July 2020 that it would sell its entire remaining stake in the oilfield services provider over the next three years. At the time, GE still held 35.6 percent of Baker Hughes. The Baker Hughes shares GE still owns are worth about $5.50 billion at a price of $20.54.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Morning News

Twitter: Total Revenue Expected to Grow Faster Than Expenses in 2021

Twitter's first quarter results exceeded market expectations, but the increase in daily users fell slightly short of analysts' expectations. In addition, the short message service warned that user growth could weaken in the coming quarters. Shares fell 9.5 percent in after-hours trading. For the opening quarter, Twitter reported a net profit of $68 million, or 8 U.S. cents per share. That compares with a loss of $8.3 million, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were 16 U.S. cents, while analysts had expected only 14 cents here. Revenue rose to $1.04 billion from $807.6 million in the year-ago period. The number of daily users increased by 199 million in the period, up 20 percent from a year earlier. But analysts had expected a 200 million increase.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Morning News

Fed Holds Steady on Interest Rates, Bond Purchases

The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate near zero and said it plans to continue supporting the economic recovery, while acknowledging recent progress in growth and employment. Fed officials voted unanimously Wednesday to maintain the central bank’s policies, aimed at holding down borrowing costs, until the economy heals further from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Amid progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have strengthened,” the Fed said in a statement released after the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. “The sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic remain weak but have shown improvement. Inflation has risen, largely reflecting transitory factors.” The Fed has held overnight interest rates near zero since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions delivered a severe blow to the economy. Since June, the central bank has also been purchasing at least $80 billion of Treasury bonds and at least $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities to hold down longer-term borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Morning News

Microsoft shares fall after hours, despite topping earnings forecasts

In after-hours trading, Microsoft shares fell after topping Wall Street's profit forecasts, shedding more than 3%. Alphabet's report was better received by investors after it broke sales records for the first quarter, sending shares up nearly 4% post-trading. Microsoft has largely exceeded the expectations of Wall Street Tuesday, earning a profit of more than 15 billion dollars in the third quarter, while the demand for products and services of the software giant in particular in the cloud and video games remains very strong in the context of the pandemic of coronavirus. The share of the Redmond firm was however down 3.5% in electronic trading after the close of the New York Stock Exchange after having set records in the last three sessions. The stock had ended up 0.2%, at a new high of $ 261.97. The California-based company reported Tuesday net income of $15.46 billion, or $2.03 per share, for the three months ended December, up from $1.40 per share a year earlier.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ
Morning News

Tesla Posts Record Earnings at Start of Turbulent Year

Tesla Inc. posted a record quarterly profit, fueled by rising deliveries despite supply disruptions and mounting concerns about the safety of its battery-powered vehicles. The Silicon Valley car company has enjoyed booming sales, driven by both its popular Model Y compact sport-utility vehicle and sustained demand in China. Tesla earlier this month said it delivered roughly 184,800 vehicles in the first three months of the year, more than double the number during the same period a year earlier. The company, which delivered nearly half a million vehicles in 2020, has said it expects that figure to rise more than 50% this year. Tesla on Monday said first-quarter sales jumped around 74% from the same period a year earlier to $10.4 billion, generating a $438 million in net profit. Wall Street on average expected the company to report sales of about $10.5 billion and net income of around $509 million for the January through March period, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

By
Vincent MIVELAZ