1.COCA-COLA : -Coca-Cola Co raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts on Wednesday, as demand rebounds for its beverages from the re-opening of theaters, restaurants and stadiums.
Shares of the world’s largest soda maker rose 2% in early trading.
Revenue in Coca-Cola’s North America business rose 28% in the second quarter, helped by the vaccine-aided reopening of public venues and easing of capacity restrictions across the United States.
The company said it expects annual organic revenue to rise 12% to 14%, compared with its prior forecast of a high single digits increase.
Annual adjusted earnings per share are expected to rise 13% to 15%, compared with a prior forecast of a high single digits to low double digits increase.
Net revenue rose 42% to $10.1 billion in the second quarter ended July 2. The company had reported a 28% slump in total net revenues in the year-ago quarter due to the lockdowns.
2.JOHNSON& JOHNSON:- Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday forecast just $2.5 billion in 2021 sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, which has fallen way behind rival shots from Pfizer and Moderna as the company deals with vaccine production issues and safety concerns.
J&J said it expects full-year sales of $91.3 billion-$92.1 billion this year from the rest of the business, and $93.8 billion to $94.6 billion including contribution from the single-dose vaccine.
The J&J shot, once touted as an important tool for vaccinations in hard-to-reach areas, is far behind on its schedule for deliveries in the United States and Europe.
Use of the vaccine has also been linked to a very rare, potentially life-threatening blood-clotting condition. Last week, U.S. regulators added a warning to the vaccine related to a rare autoimmune disorder.
3.PORSCHE:- Germany’s BASF said on Wednesday it has been chosen as the exclusive partner to develop high-performing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles with Cellforce Group, a joint venture between Porsche and Customcells.
As part of the collaboration, BASF will provide materials for high-performance battery cells for fast charging and high energy density. Cellforce Group will produce the high-performing battery.
Sources told Reuters last month that Volkswagen was seeking closer ties with Germany’s BASF, one of the world’s largest suppliers of battery materials.”
4.NETFLIX:– Netflix Inc said it would make a deeper dive into video games as the movie and TV streaming service projected weak subscriber growth amid growing competition and the lifting of pandemic restrictions that had kept people at home.
The company’s shares hovered about even at $531.10 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Netflix is weathering a sharp slowdown in new customers after a boom in 2020 fueled by stay-at-home orders to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States and Canada, Netflix reported losing about 430,000 subscribers in the second quarter, only its third quarterly decline in 10 years.
The streaming video pioneer said it was in the early stages of expanding its video game offerings, which would be available to subscribers at no extra charge. The company will initially focus primarily on mobile games.
“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” the company said in its quarterly letter to shareholders.
.5.AMC –Shares in AMC Entertainment closed up 24.5% on Tuesday after a late session volume spike boosted the cinema operator which has been a big focus on social media.
AMC shares ended the session at $43.09 after rising as high as $44.39. With trading volume around 166 million shares it was the second most actively traded on stock on U.S. exchanges on the day.
While the volatile stock was up sharply throughout the trading day it picked up more steam during the last hour of trading when it surpassed $40 for the first time since July 13.
Possibly helping the shares on Tuesday was AMC’s announcement late Monday that it was planning to start operating cinemas in two high-grossing locations in Los Angeles, starting in August and that it was in in active discussions with other property owners regarding use of currently closed locations.
Also AMC’s shares have been boosted this year by their popularity among retail investors using social media forums such as Twitter and Reddit to encourage each other to buy the stock. Along with video game retailer GameStop , AMC has been at the center of massive rallies in January as retail investors looked to hurt bearish hedge funds betting against the stocks.
