By Francesca Fontana
The Score is a weekly review of the biggest stock moves and the news that drove them.
Tesla
Tesla clinched a key victory overseas.
Chief Executive Elon Musk won Beijing's tentative approval to roll out the electric-vehicle maker's advanced driver-assistance service in China, Tesla's second-largest market, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Musk is pushing to expand use of its controversial "Full Self-Driving," or FSD, software feature globally. Being able to launch FSD in China would help Tesla compete with major Chinese carmakers that already provide higher-level driver-assistance features.
Clearing the regulatory hurdle in China is a crucial win for Tesla as it tries to reignite sluggish demand for its electric cars.
Tesla shares soared 15% Monday.
Starbucks
Starbucks' CEO promises to give its performance a jolt.
The coffee giant reported a sharp slowdown in visits and weaker-than-expected sales and profit in the latest quarter. The company also cut its sales outlook for the second time this year.
Chief Executive Laxman Narasimhan said the company is working to speed up morning service to better meet customer demand, as too many customers abandon their app orders due to long wait times and menu-item unavailability.
Narasimhan, who took the helm in March 2023, also said Starbucks is continuing to address misperception around its brand, tied in part to the Israel-Hamas war.
Starbucks shares sank 16% Wednesday.
CVS Health
CVS's Medicare business pushed down its latest earnings.
The healthcare giant posted weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings and cut its 2024 guidance for the second time, as higher medical costs among seniors weighed on its Medicare business.
CVS has made a big bet on its Aetna Medicare plans, as Medicare has long been a major source of growth and profits in the industry. But the timing of CVS expanding enrollment was inopportune and coincided with an unexpected rise in seniors' healthcare use and regulatory changes.
Earlier this year, rival insurer Humana, which focuses on Medicare plans, reported a steep quarterly loss on medical-cost increases, which it called "unprecedented."
CVS shares plummeted 17% Wednesday, the stock's worst one-day drop since 2009.
Amazon.com
The artificial-intelligence boom powered record first-quarter sales for Amazon.
The tech behemoth's quarterly revenue rose 13% to reach its record high of $143.3 billion and its profit surged to $10.4 billion, bolstered by the performance of its cloud business, Amazon Web Services.
Chief Executive Andy Jassy said that the explosion of demand for generative AI resulted in strong sales for Amazon Web Services, or AWS. The division's sales increased more than 17% in the first quarter, and its operating profit jumped nearly 84%.
Jassy has reoriented the tech behemoth to focus on AI innovations since falling behind Microsoft, Alphabet's Google and others.
Amazon shares gained 2.3% Wednesday.
Paramount has a new bid to consider.
Sony Pictures and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management on Wednesday submitted a $26 billion all-cash offer for the entertainment giant, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
For the past few weeks, Paramount's directors have been weighing a merger with Skydance Media, a production company led by David Ellison. Paramount entered an exclusive negotiating window with Skydance that had an expiration date of May 3.
The new offer is the second time Apollo has made a bid for Paramount. But Paramount's board had concerns about Apollo's first proposal, including whether it could arrange financing for a deal, the Journal previously reported.
Paramount shares jumped 13% Thursday.
Apple
Sluggish iPhone sales took another bite out of Apple.
The tech giant on Thursday posted its fifth revenue decline in the past six quarters, as the company's key smartphone business continues to face slowing demand and increased competition overseas.
For one, Apple's strategy of steering consumers toward its more expensive "Pro"-designated phones isn't bolstering overall revenue as much as it once did. Rivals in China are also putting more pressure on the company's performance in its third-largest market.
Apple signaled that the current quarter is likely to see revenue growth and authorized $110 billion in stock buybacks.
Apple shares rose 6% Friday.
Our weekly markets news roundup is now part of the WSJ's What's News podcast. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Check it out at wsj.com/podcasts or wherever you listen.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 03, 2024 17:52 ET (21:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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