WestRock agreed to merge with Smurfit Kappa and form one of the largest packaging companies in the world. 

Smurfit WestRock, the newly formed holding company will be headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and will be listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. 

WestRock stockholders will receive one Smurfit WestRock share and $5 cash and Smurfit Kappa shareholders will receive one share of the newly formed company. 

Smurfit Kappa shareholders will own 50.4% of the newly merged company. 

The combined packaging company will have about $34 billion in annual sales with about 65% of the revenue located in the Americas. 

WestRock jumped 7.7% to $36.75 and Smurfit Kappa Group Plc declined 8.0% in London trading to 2,824.0 pence. 

12 Sep, 2023

Tesla Inc jumped 7.4% to $266.81 after Morgan Stanley analyst made positive comments and said that the company has made significant breakthrough in its software for autonomous vehicle. 

Analyst Adam Jonas said that stock could rally as much as 60% and add as much as $500 billion in market cap as the company makes advances in its supercomputing project Dojo. 

11 Sep, 2023

Qualcomm Inc jumped 3.2% to $110.29 after the company said it will provide modems for smartphones made by Apple Inc through 2026.  

Apple has been working for more than four years to develop its own modem chipsets and purchased Intel's modem division in 2019. 

11 Sep, 2023

RTX Corp declined 6.6% to $77.90 after the company said it plans to take a pre-tax charge of $3 billion in its current quarter results because of issues related to some of Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine manufacturing that power  Airbus A320 neo. 

11 Sep, 2023

J.M. Smucker, the maker of peanut butter, jelly, coffee and pet foods, said it agreed to acquire Twinkies maker Hostess Brands for $34.25 a share in stock and cash. 

The offer valued Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion including debt and the purchase is expected to close by the  end of January 2024. 

J.M. Smucker Co declined 6.8% to $132.0 and Hostess Brands Inc soared 19.1% to $33.47. 

11 Sep, 2023

RH dropped 9.1% to $335 after the home goods retailer forecasted weak third quarter outlook citing weakness in the luxury residence market on elevated mortgage rates. 

Revenue in the second quarter ending in July decreased to $800 million from $991.6 million and net income declined to $76.4 million from $122 million and diluted earnings per share fell to $3.36 from $4.54 a year ago. 

The company forecasted third quarter revenue between $740 and $760 million and adjusted operating margin in the range of 8% to 10%.  

The retailer raised to the low end of revenue guidance for the year to a range of $3.04 billion to $3.1 billion and reiterated its outlook for adjusted operating margin in the range of 14.5% to 15.5%. 

RH estimate the 53rd week will result in revenues of approximately $60 million.

The company repurchased 3.7 million shares in the second quarter at an average price of $325.65, representing approximately 17% of the total shares outstanding at the beginning of the second quarter. 

08 Sep, 2023

DocuSign Inc jumped 1% to $52.65 after the company reported better-than-expected revenue in its latest quarter. 

Revenue in the second quarter ending in July increased 11% to $687.7 million from $622.2 million and the company swung to a profit of $7.4 million from a loss of $45 million and diluted earnings per share was 4 cents compared to (22 cents) a year ago. 

Free cash flow increased to $183.6 million from $105.5 million in the same period last year.

 

08 Sep, 2023

Kroger Company declined 1.1% to $45 after the largest independent grocery retail chain reported mixed second quarter results. 

Revenue in the second quarter declined to $33.8 billion from $34.6 billion and excluding fuel, sales increased 1% from a year ago to $29.5 billion. 

Kroger defines identical sales, excluding fuel, as sales to retail customers, including sales from all departments at identical supermarket  locations, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy businesses, jewelry and ship-to-home solutions. 

Kroger defines a supermarket as identical when it has  been in operation without expansion or relocation for five full quarters. 

The company swung to a net loss of $180 million from a profit of $731 million and diluted earnings per share swung to ($0.25) from $1.0 a year ago. 

Separately, the company said it settled most claims related to opioid for $1.2 billion. 

The company said the settlement and the payment terms will not affect Kroger’s ability to complete its proposed merger with Albertsons and the company still expects to reduce its net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio to 2.50 within 18 – 24 months after the close of the merger. 

 

08 Sep, 2023

Planet Labs PBC declined 7.7% to $2.84 after the satellite imagery company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results and forecasted revenue below market expectations. 

Revenue in the second quarter ending in August increased 11% to $53.8 million and net loss shrank to $37.9 million from $39.4 million and diluted loss per share declined to 14 cents from 15 cents a year ago. 

For the third quarter ending in October, the company estimated revenue to increase 11% between $54 million and $56 million. 

The satellite imagery company estimated fiscal full-year revenue between $214 million and $223 million, an increase of 15% at the midpoint.  

08 Sep, 2023

Dave & Buster's Inc dropped 3.9% to $36.0 after the restaurant and entertainment company reported quarterly results that missed some investors expectations. 

Second quarter revenue increased 15.7% to $542.1 million and net income declined to $25.9 million from $29.1 million and diluted earnings per share was 60 cents compared to 59 cents a year ago.  

Comparable same store sales from a year ago declined 6.3% but rose 5.8% from the same period in 2019. 

The Company purchased 2.1 million shares at a total cost of $74.5 million in the second quarter. 

Total share repurchases to date in fiscal 2023 are 5.7 million shares totaling $200 million and representing 11.8% of the outstanding shares as of the end of fiscal 2022.    

The company Board also expanded share repurchase authorization by $100 million to a total of $200 million.  

07 Sep, 2023

ChargePoint Holdings Inc plunged 27.5% to $5.08 after the company reported second quarter revenue jumped 39% to $150.5 million from $108.3 million and gross margin plunged to 1% from 17% a year ago. 

Net loss in the quarter increased to $125.3 million from $92.7 million and diluted loss per share rose to 35 cents from 28 cents a year ago. 

07 Sep, 2023

Dutch Bros Inc declined 6.9% to $26.12 after the company announced its plan to raise $300 million through the public offering of Class A common stock. 

07 Sep, 2023

U.S. Movers: Blue Apron, Nike, Vail Resorts

Scott Peters
29 Sep, 2023
New York City

Nike Inc jumped 7.9% to $96.70 after the athletic footwear retailer reported mixed quarterly results and guided sales to rise in mid-single digit in the current fiscal year. 

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter ending in August increased 2% to $12.9 billion from $12.7 billion and net income edged down 1% to $1.45 billion from $1.47 billion from a year ago. 

Diluted earnings per share edged up 1% to 94 cents from 93 cents a year ago. 

The company declared a dividend of 34 cents per share compared to 30.5 cents a year ago. 

In the fiscal first quarter, Nike returned shareholders $1.7 billion, including $524 million in dividends and stock repurchase of 10.5 million or $1.1 billion as a part of the company's $18 billion buyback plan. 

At the end of August, the company has repurchased a total of $5.9 billion of its own stock. 

Blue Apron Holdings Inc soared 133% to $12.82 after the meal kit company agreed to be acquired by Wonder Group for $13 a share. 

At the end of regular trading hours, Blue Apron stock closed at $5.49 valuing the company at $50 million. 

Vail Resorts, Inc decreased 3.9% to $233.31 after the ski resorts operator said revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in July  increased to $269.8 million from $267.1 million a year ago. 

Net loss in the quarter expanded to $128.5 million from $108.7 million and diluted loss per share deepened to $3.35 from $2.70 a year ago. 

The company forecasted net fiscal year 2024 net income between $316 million and $394 million and the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.06 per share payable on October 26 to shareholders on record October 10. 

U.S. Market Indexes Advanced After Watered-down Inflation Measure Eased

Barry Adams
29 Sep, 2023
New York City

Market indexes advanced on the final trading day of the week, month and quarter after the latest report on inflation showed slight improvement. 

Benchmark indexes rebounded in Friday's trading after core personal consumption expenditures price index, an alternative and diluted measure of inflation, increased 0.1% in August from the previous month and rose 3.9% from a year ago. 

The data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed monthly core PCE prices, which excludes food and energy prices, rose at the slowest pace since November 2020 and annual core prices eased to the level last seen in May 2021. 

Overall PCE price index increased 0.4% from the previous month and jumped 3.5% from a year ago 

Despite the market rebound in Friday's trading, market indexes are set to close down for the week, month and the quarter. 

The S&P 500 index is set to close down 0.4% in the week, fall 4% in September, and ease 2.2% in the third quarter and trim annual gain to 12.0%.  

The Nasdaq index set to advance 0.5% in the week, fall 4.4% in the month, decline 2.6% in the third quarter and trim annual gain to 26.5%.  

Investors remained cautious as the U.S. House controlled by Republicans struggled to unite and pass a short term spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year starting October 1. 

U.S. Indexes & Yields 

The S&P 500 index is set to close down the month by 4% and the Nasdaq index by 5% and both indexes are down 3% in the third quarter. 

The S&P 500 index increased 0.6% to 4,326.15 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to 13,353.24. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 5.03%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.52% and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.67%. 

Crude oil increased $0.33 to $92.04 a barrel and natural gas prices decreased 5 cents to $2.89 a thermal unit. 

The dollar index edged higher to 105.88, the level last seen in November 2022 and extended gains from the low of 99.85 on July 13, 2023.  

U.S. Stock Movers 

Nike Inc jumped 7.9% to $96.70 after the athletic shoes and sportswear maker reported mixed quarterly results and guided sales to rise in mid-single digit in the current fiscal year. 

Blue Apron Holdings Inc soared 133% to $12.82 after the meal kit company agreed to be acquired by Wonder Group for $13 a share. 

At the end of regular trading hours, Blue Apron stock closed at $5.49 valuing the company at $50 million. 

Vail Resorts, Inc decreased 3.9% to $233.31 after the ski resorts operator said revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in July  increased to $269.8 million from $267.1 million a year ago. 

Net loss in the quarter expanded to $128.5 million from $108.7 million and diluted loss per share deepened to $3.35 from $2.70 a year ago. 

The company forecasted net fiscal year 2024 net income between $316 million and $394 million and the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.06 per share payable on October 26 to shareholders on record October 10. 

European Markets Rebounded After Inflation Dropped to 2-year Low

Bridgette Randall
29 Sep, 2023
Frankfurt

European markets rebounded after several inflation reports in the currency union showed easing inflation pressures. 

Benchmark indexes have been under pressure for several weeks on the worries of elevated inflation and higher interest rates. 

But the latest report on inflation in the currency union showed that the cooling inflation trend is still in place after inflation peaked above 10% in October 2022. 

Consumer price inflation has been falling every month since October except April 2023 largely because of higher prices in the previous month and weakening energy prices. 

However, the inflation backdrop is changing and crude oil and natural gas prices have started to rebound from September which could pause the current declining trend. 

On Thursday, Spain's statistical agency said inflation accelerated for the third month in a row to 3.5% in September and Germany's statistical agency said inflation eased to 4.5% from 6.1% in the previous month. 

Euro Area Inflation Slowed In September 

The Euro Area consumer price inflation eased to 4.3% in September from a year ago, Eurostat reported Friday.

Consumer price inflation dropped to the slowest pace since October 2021, according to the preliminary estimate released by the statistical agency.   

The Service sector inflation slowed to 4.7% from 5.5% in August and food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose at a slower pace of 8.8% from 9.7% in the previous month. 

The fall in energy prices accelerated to 4.4% from 3.3% in the previous month.   

Core rate of inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, slowed to 4.5% from 5.3% in the previous month.   

UK Economic Growth Revised Higher

U.K.'s economy grew at a faster than previously estimated rate in the first quarter of 2023, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday. 

First quarter GDP growth was revised higher to 0.3% from 0.1% and second quarter growth was left unrevised at 0.2%.  

For 2022, GDP growth rate was revised higher to 4.3% from the previous estimate of 4.1%. 

The higher economic growth estimate suggested that the British economy is 1.8% larger at the end of June 2023 compared to the last quarter of 2019, the last full quarter before the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. 

Europe Indexes & Yields

The DAX index increased 1.03% to 15,480.90, the CAC-40 index advanced 1.1% to 7,193.09 and the FTSE 100 index added 0.9% to 7,666.67. 

The yield on 10-year German bonds increased to 2.85%, French bonds traded higher to 3.14%, the UK gilts edged up to 4.45% and Italian bonds rose to 4.77%.

The euro edged lower to a three-month low to $1.06, the British pound to $1.22 and the U.S. dollar fetched 91.13 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.82 to $93.92 a barrel and the Dutch TTF natural gas edged higher by €2.61 to €42.35 per MWh.

Europe Stock Movers 

Commerzbank AG soared 11.5% after the German bank said it plans to revise its shareholder payout policy in the near future. 

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC jumped 13.4% to 296.0 pence after the Yew Tree consortium announced to purchase an additional stake of 3.27% or 26 million shares in the luxury automobile company. 

3i Infrastructure gained 0.6% to 306.70 pence after the company said it is on track to deliver its fiscal 2024 dividend target of 11.90 pence per share.  

Future Plc jumped 20.9% to 863.50 pence after the print and online media company reiterated its annual earnings outlook. 

Severn Trent jumped 6.8% to 2,419.0 pence after the waste water treatment company said it plans to invest 12.9 billion over the next five fiscal years.

Syncona advanced 8.9% to 115.67 pence after the company announced a stock repurchase plan.