The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0850 ET - Declining sales for Pfizer's Covid-19 products continue to weigh on the company's results. The drug and vaccine maker says sales of Paxlovid slid 63% in 3Q on lower Covid-19 infections across the U.S. and internationally, while Comirnaty sales fell 29%, driven in part by lower utilization in the U.S. due to narrower vaccine recommendations. The company has been working to offset that pressure by developing and acquiring new products.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
0843 ET - Pfizer continues to get a boost from its blood thinner Eliquis. Sales of the product gained 25% in 3Q, driven by higher prices in the U.S., as well as higher demand globally, the company says. Pfizer is bracing to lose patent protection for Eliquis. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
0843 ET - Shopify's revenue, gross profit, and merchant transaction volumes narrowly missed analyst expectations in 3Q, sending the stock down in premarket trading. Revenue rose 32% to $3.74 billion, narrowly trailing FactSet consensus of $3.75 billion, while gross profit of $1.781 billion also edged below expectations. Gross merchandise volume, which measures all sales made through the platform, came in at $119.15 billion, but below the $120.02 billion expected by analysts. The decline comes after the stock gained nearly 28% in the last three months. For 4Q, Shopify guides revenue to grow at a low-30s percentage rate in the critical holiday-shopping quarter, while gross profit is projected to grow at a slower high-20s rate. The company also projects 4Q operating expenses will account for 29% to 30% of revenue. Shares are trading 16% lower in premarket at $131.95. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0833 ET - Pfizer says its bet on new products is paying off. In 3Q, revenues of its recently-launched and acquired products grew 32%. Those products include bladder-cancer treatments Padcev, which it acquired, and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer drug Lorbrena, which it developed. Pfizer has been working to develop new medicines and buy other treatments, including weight-loss drugs, as it contends with plummeting demand for its Covid products. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
0832 ET - Intesa Sanpaolo's third-quarter profit beat was driven by lower-than-expected loan-loss provisions and costs, RBC Capital Markets' Pablo de la Torre Cuevas writes. The profit beat was slightly weakened by lower-than-forecast trading income, RBC adds. The focus of Tuesday's earnings call is likely to be the bank's updated guidance related to the acquisition of Monte dei Paschi, RBC writes. Intesa now expects the offer to be settled in December or January, rather than December as previously expected. Analysts will also focus on the reasons behind new 2027 net interest income guidance of a "further significant increase" from 2026, RBC adds. Shares in Intesa are down 0.6%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)
0802 ET - High uncertainty around the future profitability of tech companies is likely to continue driving market volatility, IBOSS's Rupert Thompson says in a note. Investors worry that heavy spending by AI companies might not generate expected returns, leading to a tech sector selloff. "The tension between the near-term strength of tech earnings and worries over their longer-term viability looks unlikely to be resolved any time soon," Thompson says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0759 ET - Shopify is expecting continued topline momentum heading into its key 4Q which captures peak holiday spending across Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The ecommerce platform provider guides 4Q revenue to grow at a low-thirties percentage rate year-over-year, alongside high-twenties percentage rate growth in gross profit dollars. The final three months of the year represent Shopify's highest-volume period, serving also as a test of demand and consumer health as shoppers descend upon merchants and online stores for the biggest shopping days of the year in the run up to the Christmas holidays. Shopify's 3Q revenue comes in shy of expectations, pressuring shares which are sliding 16% premarket.(adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0747 ET - BP's balance sheet is repairing faster than expected, HSBC's Kim Fustier writes. The bank sees total financial obligations falling to just under $35 billion by year-end from $44.3 billion at the end of the third quarter. The British energy major's intention to prioritize paying down its remaining Deepwater Horizon liabilities further reduces the likelihood of quarterly buybacks resuming before 2028, she says. BP trades flat at 599.80 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0736 ET - Ether is experiencing a significant divergence between weaker institutional investment flows and accumulation by large cryptocurrency holders, known as whales, Zaye Capital Markets analyst Naeem Aslam says in a note. U.S. spot ether exchange traded funds recorded about $155.9 million in net outflows on Oct. 30, the largest daily withdrawal since Oct. 7, he says. Institutional investors appear to be reducing their exposure, which has likely driven ethereum's recent weakness, he says. "However, recent whale accumulation suggests that larger investors are beginning to identify opportunities following ethereum's prolonged correction." Ether rises 0.4% to $2,263 after reaching a 10-week low of $2,178 on Friday, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0735 ET - So-called absolute luxury companies are faring better than peers that have a stronger focus on trends, RBC Capital Markets' analyst Piral Dadhania says. The former, like Brunello Cucinelli or Ermenegildo Zegna, are defined by extreme exclusivity, craftsmanship, quality, and the absence of splashy designs or visible logos, Dadhania says. Groups that own labels with a stronger focus on fashion and trends are suffering more amid a downturn in demand for luxury goods, the analyst says. These include Gucci-owner Kering and LVMH, which houses Louis Vuitton, he adds. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
0727 ET - French energy major TotalEnergies posted a modest beat against raised consensus expectations, HSBC's Kim Fustier writes. Stellar LNG results and exceptional margins helped drive cash generation in the third quarter, she says. Management now sees full-year free cash flow from operations between $42 billion and $43 billion, and if does hit the upper range, the final dividend could be increased to meet the company's payout commitment, the analyst writes. Shares are up 0.3% at 83.90 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0706 ET - Adidas's prospects reinforce confidence in the quarters ahead, AlphaValue's Jie Zhang says. The German sportswear company recently lifted its profit guidance for 2026 after receiving a windfall of around $220 million from U.S. tariff refunds and delivering a record quarterly performance. The company's expected return to high-single-digit growth in Europe during the fourth quarter improves visibility, Zhang writes in a research note. Sustained demand for performance and apparel products, alongside more measured spending after heavy marketing during the FIFA World Cup, supports better earnings conversion, the analyst says. Shares fall 1.9%.
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