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By Swissquote Analysts
Morning News

Netflix Shares Sink as Company Sees Subscriber Growth Slowing

Netflix Inc. said it expects to add a much smaller number of subscribers this quarter than it did a year ago as it adjusts to growing competition and lasting disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, sending the video streamer’s shares down sharply.

By
Peter Rosenstreich
Morning News

Bank of America's Quarterly Profit Rises 28%

Bank of America Corp. profit rose 28% in the fourth quarter, boosted by record investment-banking revenue and recovering appetite for borrowing from businesses and consumers. The second-largest U.S. bank earned $7.01 billion, up from $5.47 billion a year earlier. Per-share earnings of 82 cents topped the 77 cents that analysts polled by FactSet had expected. Higher interest income and record investment banking revenue pushed Bank of America to higher earnings. The bank also reported an earnings slowdown a year ago, making this year's comparisons easier. Outstanding loans and leases totaled $979.12 billion in the fourth quarter, up 6% from both the third quarter and a year earlier. Other large banks saw their profits decline in the fourth quarter. Some of the business lines that powered banks over the past two years, like frenetic trading and a lucrative mortgage market, began to return to normal levels.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard in All-Cash Deal Valued at $75 Billion

Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy Activision Blizzard Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at about $75 billion, using its largest acquisition by far to grab a videogame heavyweight that has been roiled by claims of workplace misconduct. The deal, if completed, would sharply expand Microsoft’s already sizable videogame operation, adding a stable of popular game franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush to Microsoft’s Xbox console business and its own games like Minecraft and Doom. Microsoft said the transaction would make it the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Japan’s Sony Group Corp. The deal is valued at $68.7 billion after adjusting for Activision’s net cash, Microsoft said.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Unilever Sets Out Ambition to Expand in Health Products

Unilever shares tumbled 6.9% after the consumer-goods giant said over the weekend that it had approached GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer about buying their consumer-health joint venture. Its latest proposal valued the unit at $68.4 billion. U.K.-listed GlaxoSmithKline shares rose 4.1%. Unilever PLC announced its intention to push further into health, beauty, and hygiene products at the expense of slower-growing food brands. The maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream said Monday that buying GSK Consumer Healthcare, which sells everything from Aquafresh toothpaste to Advil painkillers, would be accompanied by significant divestitures as it looks to rejigger its portfolio toward higher-growth categories. Unilever on Saturday stated it had made a takeover approach for the business, which is 68% owned by Glaxo and 32% by Pfizer Inc. A successful deal would be Unilever’s largest-ever acquisition and greatly expand its presence in oral care and vitamins, as well as give it a new foothold in over-the-counter medicines.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Pandemic Profits Begin to Ebb at America’s Biggest Banks

The tumultuous pandemic economy sent big-bank profits to great heights. They’re coming back down to earth. Fourth-quarter profit fell 14% at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and 26% at Citigroup Inc., ending what had been a streak of big gains for most of 2021. Revenue didn’t budge much, but expenses rose. JPMorgan shares fell 6.2% in midday trading, and Citigroup fell 2.5%. Banks have enjoyed unparalleled growth during the pandemic, buoyed by a deal-making boom, market volatility that supercharged trading arms and a housing market that made mortgage lending more profitable than ever. Trading revenue fell 11% at JPMorgan and 17% at Citigroup, dragged down by declines in fixed-income trading. JPMorgan logged a profit of $10.4 billion, or $3.33 per share. Citigroup posted $3.2 billion, or $1.46 per share. Both beat the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Tesco 3Q, Christmas Sales Rose, Driving Upgrade to FY 2022 Guidance

Tesco PLC said that it has had stronger-than-expected sales to date after a strong third quarter of fiscal 2022 and robust sales during Christmas, and that it now expects to post a retail operating profit for the full fiscal year slightly above its previous top-end guidance. The U.K.’s biggest grocer by market share said like-for-like retail sales rose 2.6% on year in the 19 weeks ended Saturday, rising 2.4% in the third quarter and 3.2% in the Christmas period. The company’s retail operating profit guidance is in the range of 2.5 billion to 2.6 billion pounds ($3.56 billion-$3.43 billion). In the U.K., Tesco’s like-for-like sales rose 0.2% in the 19-week period, and increased 4.9% in Central Europe.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

MW Group 2021 Sales Advanced Despite 4Q Setback

BMW AG said that it sold more cars in 2021 compared with the previous year, helped by strong growth in its BMW brand and its electric-car offering. The German auto maker sold a total of 2.5 million vehicles in 2021, up 8.4% from the year before. Sales at the BMW brand rose 9.1% to 2.2 million units, reaching their highest-ever level. The year-on-year progress was recorded in spite of a decline in the fourth quarter, when group unit sales world-wide fell 14% on year.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Banca Carige Shares Drop After BPER Banca Gets Exclusivity Period for Takeover

Shares in Italy’s Banca Carige SpA fell Tuesday morning, dropping to the price per share that potential buyer BPER Banca SpA said it would offer minority shareholders. BPER said late Monday that it has been granted an exclusivity period for the potential acquisition of Banca Carige SpA after making an improved offer for its smaller rival. BPER said it will launch a public offer of 0.80 euro (91 cents) a share for Carige shares after acquiring a majority stake in the bank from FITD, Italy’s deposit-guarantee fund. BPER has been granted exclusivity until Feb. 15 by FITD, which owns 80% of Carige, after submitting a new non-binding offer for Carige on Sunday.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Take-Two Interactive to Buy FarmVille Maker Zynga

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. agreed to buy Zynga Inc. in a roughly $11 billion deal as the maker of Grand Theft Auto looks to expand its mobile portfolio with hits like Words With Friends and FarmVille. The cash-and-stock deal announced Monday is one of the videogame industry’s biggest acquisitions. Take-Two Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said a purchase of Zynga would give it a strong position in mobile, which has been the fastest-growing segment of the global videogame industry in recent years. “More than 50% of our net bookings will come from mobile upon closing this transaction,” Mr. Zelnick said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He added that the combined company will have more than one billion users, creating an opportunity to cross-promote content to a broader audience.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Mercedes-Benz Reports 2021 Sales of 329,574 Vehicles

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported Q4 2021 sales of 60,326 Mercedes-Benz models. Additionally, Mercedes-Benz Vans recorded Q4 sales of 15,705, bringing MBUSA to a grand total of 76,031 vehicles for the quarter, a decrease of -20.2% over the comparable period last year. On a year-to-date basis, MBUSA recorded sales of 276,102 Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles and 53,472 Vans. This brings MBUSA's total year-to-date sales to 329,574 units, an increase of 1.1% versus 2020. "Results for 2021 demonstrated the incredible demand for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the U.S. and worldwide despite ongoing supply challenges," said Dimitris Psillakis, President and CEO of MBUSA. "Together with our Mercedes-Benz dealer partners, we will advance our position with the electric EQS-sedan, all new SL, new C-Class, EQE, EQS SUV and EQB in 2022 and further accelerate our long term ambitions for an electric future."

By
Nadine PEREIRA