Yahoo Finance Trending tickers: Microsoft l Tesla l Netflix l ASML l Tata Group
A look at the stocks making headlines on Wednesday
Microsoft (MSFT)
Shares in the US tech giant climbed on Tuesday and are expected to extend those gains again today after the company announced an artificial intelligence (AI) subscription option for Microsoft 365 tools.
The “copilot subscription service” adds AI to the company’s Office products including Word, Excel and Teams.
However, it will cost users an additional $30 (£23.16) per month to have the AI offerings, increasing monthly prices for enterprise customers by as much as 83%.
Microsoft made the announcement at its annual partner conference on Tuesday.
It comes as the company’s finance chief, Amy Hood, said recently that next generation AI will be the fastest growing $10bn (£7.86bn) business in our history.
Tesla (TSLA)
Investors will be keeping across Tesla stock today with the tech giant set to report its second-quarter (Q2) results.
Over the last three months, shares in Elon Musk’s company have jumped 58%, adding over $100 in share price for investors riding the boom.
As a result, Wall Street is expecting Tesla to report revenue of $24.56bn, and adjusted EPS of $0.82. That revenue figure would represent a slight gain from Q1, but a massive 45% from a year ago.
On Saturday, the company said it has built its first Cybertruck at the electric-vehicle marker's plant in Texas. It comes four years after Musk first revealed the prototype.
Since then, production timings have faced delays with Musk citing component sourcing challenges.
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The Cybertruck launch gives Tesla an EV entrant in one of the most profitable segments of the US market.
It will compete, however, with electric pickup trucks from the likes of Ford Motor and Rivian Automotive.
Netflix (NFLX)
US video streaming giant Netflix is also releasing its Q2 earnings today with the company expected to report a record number of users following the purge on password sharing between users.
However, Wall Street is expecting a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues for the quarter ended June 2023.
“While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates,” Zacks Equity Research said.
Zacks also noted that the company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.81 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -12.2%.
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Moreover, Zacks said revenues are expected to be $8.26bn, up 3.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Meanwhile, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.05% lower over the last 30 days to the current level.
“This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts,” Zacks also noted.
ASML (ASML.AS)
The Netherlands-headquartered semiconductor company ASML reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations and cheered investors on Wednesday with the company’s stock edging higher.
ASML increased its full-year sales growth forecast to 30%, up from a previous 25%, in part due to continuing strong demand from Chinese customers.
Read more: UK inflation falls to 15-month low of 7.9% as price rises slow
Chief executive of the group, Peter Wennink, said: "Our customers across different market segments are currently more cautious due to continued macro-economic uncertainties, and therefore expect a later recovery.
"However, our strong (order) backlog of around 38bn euros ($42.6bn) provides us with a good basis to navigate these short-term uncertainties."
Moreover, AML’s net profit was up 35% from a year ago to €1.9bn on sales up 28% to €6.9bn, beating average analyst expectations of €1.82bn and €6.74bn respectively, according to Refinitiv data via Reuters.
Tata Group
Meanwhile, the UK has been chosen as the home of Tata Group’s first gigafactory outside of India, in a move set to create thousands of jobs and bring a huge boost to the UK’s automotive sector.
“Tata Group confirmed the UK had secured one of the largest ever investments in the UK auto industry today (19 July). The gigafactory will secure UK-produced batteries for another Tata Sons investment, Jaguar Land Rover, as well as other manufacturers in the UK and Europe,” a press release said.
The new gigafactory, at 40GWh, will be one of the largest in Europe and will create up to 4,000 jobs, as well as thousands of further jobs in the wider supply chain for battery materials and critical raw minerals.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Tata Group’s multi-billion-pound investment in a new battery factory in the UK is testament to the strength of our car manufacturing industry and its skilled workers.
“With the global transition to zero emission vehicles well underway, this will help grow our economy by driving forward our lead in battery technology whilst creating as many as 4,000 jobs, and thousands more in the supply chain.”
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