Consumer Products and Services

Mobileye sees IPO market with surprising clarity

18 Oct 2022

Five years after buying the auto tech developer, Intel is taking it public again. A shaky market and the chipmaker’s special voting stock support the swift 68% drop in valuation expectations, to the same $15 bln it originally paid. Desperation has a way of sharpening focus.

Goldman’s brainwaves are best left for its clients

18 Oct 2022

The Wall Street firm’s consumer bank Marcus – now being dismantled – was a good idea that was executed better by others. With a new revamp, Goldman is sticking to what it does best: marketing to companies instead. Its third-quarter earnings show that’s enough.

Debt adds to the heap of media problems

18 Oct 2022

Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros.’ leverage ratios are above the median for peers as the chances for a recession increases. That's as an economic slump pressures advertising and subscriptions. It bodes ill for cash gobbling streaming services.

Capital Calls: Netflix struts

18 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $109 bln streaming service reversed its subscriber losing streak and reminded rivals of its first-mover advantage.

Kroger clumsily bags up Albertsons grocery goodies

14 Oct 2022

The $25 bln acquisition of its smaller rival anticipates $1 bln of annual savings, but uniting the second- and third-largest U.S. supermarkets also raises regulatory concerns. Despite promised price cuts, wage hikes and store disposals, shareholders’ trolleys are the fullest.

Capital Calls: Soy sauce activism

12 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: Foshan Haitian, China’s largest producer of cooking’s brown gold, loses $8 bln in value after consumers complain about ingredients.

China’s dreary Golden Week has shades of grey

10 Oct 2022

Domestic tourism sales during the country's top holiday fell to less than 50% of pre-pandemic levels. Cities like Shanghai might get a welcome boost from shoppers that stayed put, but the sector drives roughly 30% of consumption. That’s cold comfort for the weakening economy.

Capital Calls: Buffett’s Berkshire successor

4 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Omaha oracle owns $100 bln of stock in his conglomerate. His potential successor Greg Abel’s purchase of $68 mln of stock last week – after selling shares in a subsidiary for $870 mln in June – is too small a move toward Buffett’s standard.

Capital Calls: Google and gaming

30 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The search giant is binning “cloud gaming” service Stadia three years after its launch.

Wall Street job cuts will be shallow and painful

29 Sep 2022

The slowdown in trading and dealmaking may suggest it’s time to swing the axe. But despite big firms’ headcount growing 10% since the pandemic, there’s surprisingly little fat to cut. Those on the front line will have to jostle with new recruits who don’t directly bring in bacon.

Cheerios can eat VCs for breakfast

28 Sep 2022

General Mills’s investment in food platform GrubMarket looks speculative. But manufacturers from United Airlines to General Motors have made similar bets. The cereal company doesn’t have to answer to capital providers like VCs do. With valuations falling, it’s not a bad idea.

Alan Jope exit is easiest step of Unilever revival

26 Sep 2022

Shares in the $111 bln Dove maker rose after it said its CEO would leave by end-2023. A botched bid for GSK’s personal health arm hit Jope’s credibility. But even with a new broom Unilever will struggle to pull off a big deal, and selling lower-growth units looks harder to do.

Capital Calls: Costco membership

23 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $216 bln retailer known for hooking shoppers with subscriptions has a high valuation for a business that, now, has many competitors.

ESPN would help Disney and Comcast settle a score

23 Sep 2022

Bob Chapek, who reigns at the Magic Kingdom, wants to buy the rest of Hulu sooner rather than later to beef up his streaming strategy. Brian Roberts, his counterpart and Disney nemesis, has less reason to sell quickly. A deal including the sports network could tempt him to talk.

Kohl’s investor tries to make old wardrobe work

22 Sep 2022

Investor Ancora wants the CEO and chairman gone after the $3 bln retailer’s stock price halved in a year. But the activist has been around since 2020, and board members it backed haven’t helped. A sale is needed, but if Ancora doesn’t step up its game, it is just a distraction.

Italy’s first female leader, Amazon’s monopoly

22 Sep 2022

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni is favourite to become prime minister after Sunday’s election. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate how she will handle Rome’s debt, which is expected to reach 148% of GDP. And: the online retail giant’s antitrust battle.

Eli Lilly obesity cure creates valuation problem

21 Sep 2022

The pharmaceutical firm's weight loss drug could rake in as much as $75 bln annually if everything goes perfectly. America’s thick waistline desperately needs help. But even with generous assumptions, the company is pushing valuation limits. Plus governments will limit success.

Ford’s supply wreck overshadows Detroit’s optimism

21 Sep 2022

The carmaker saw $7 bln wiped off its valuation after saying shortages would crimp results. Still, both it and General Motors have clung to upbeat full-year profit predictions. Add in spiraling costs and tightening credit, and their happy outlook is increasingly discordant.

Capital Calls: Stratospheric SPACs

16 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: A slew of space firms have gone public in deals with blank check firms, only quickly to fall back to Earth. Intuitive Machines has a better shot at staying aloft, thanks to government contracts.

FedEx packages economic pain with bad judgement

16 Sep 2022

A dire profit warning erased nearly a quarter of the company’s market value. The delivery titan sits at the nexus of many secular problems, including changing consumer patterns, inflation and logistical snarls. But UPS’s performance suggests such challenges can be handled better.