Transportation

Uber looks like a tech stock in the worst ways

9 Feb 2022

The ride-hailing firm is expected to grow sales rapidly. But that isn’t coming easy – or cheap - and the valuation is now in line with Netflix. As investors decide to look more closely at the fundamentals of tech darlings, Uber has more troubling attributes than the good ones.

Shipping news makes grim reading for central banks

9 Feb 2022

Logistics giants Maersk and DSV expect another bumper year due to high freight rates. Their guidance suggests transport costs are unlikely to fall to pre-pandemic levels even if ports unclog. That will make life harder for rate-setters as they seek to curb high inflation.

Ford split idea rolls back the odometer

4 Feb 2022

Tesla’s valuation makes contemplating a breakup tempting for Ford, and boss Jim Farley even sounds open to it. But its EV business is intertwined with combustion, which still lags crosstown rival GM. Plus Delphi shows how separating linked car businesses can go wrong.

Lithium squeeze could short-circuit electric cars

1 Feb 2022

Automakers like GM battling the chip shortage face a bigger problem down the road. The price of metals in electric-car batteries is soaring as demand outpaces supply. With even market leader Tesla feeling the bite, the electric revolution looks further off – and less lucrative.

Tesla hits speed bump but with improved suspension

26 Jan 2022

Elon Musk’s electric-car maker’s revenue increased 65% in the fourth quarter. Like rivals it’s battling higher costs and parts shortages, but unlike them it has a 31% gross profit margin as a buffer. Even if the market shifts down a gear, that ought to help it remain in front.

Capital Calls: TCI’s railroading tactics

26 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: The fund run by Chris Hohn has settled with Canadian National after a messy battle for the board.

Ferretti float may be back in same boat

24 Jan 2022

After a bold $1.2 bln valuation target sank its Milan IPO effort in 2019, the Italian yacht maker owned by China’s Weichai is now sailing for Hong Kong. Growth is buoyant, but luxury goods have charted a patchy course on Asian bourses. It’ll be hard, again, to make a splash.

The Exchange: Xpeng boldly goes

18 Jan 2022

The Chinese electric-car maker has navigated everything from shrinking subsidies to Covid-19. Embracing new ways of working is critical, President Brian Gu tells Katrina Hamlin. Future forays into Europe, the metaverse and flying cars will test the Tesla rival’s resilience again.

Former Uber rival flags down SPAC business model

11 Nov 2021

Gett, once a ride-hailing hopeful, is reinventing itself as a platform to help big companies manage their taxi bills. Merging with a U.S. blank-cheque firm brings cash to pursue the switch. A less shiny $1 bln valuation leaves some room for disappointment.

Russian IPO is carsharing model’s crash test dummy

1 Nov 2021

Delimobil, which is listing in New York, maintains a fleet of 18,000 cars for short trips. It’s fast-growing and EBITDA positive, helped by municipalities offering cheap parking. Its model can accelerate in richer countries, but only if taxes make owning a car too expensive.

Ford shareholders hit the accelerator too hard

28 Oct 2021

The $61 bln carmaker reinstated its dividend, boosted its earnings outlook and even overtook GM by revenue. That’s all good news, but doesn’t justify the after-hours share rally that widened the valuation gap with its larger rival. Ford is still losing the profit margin race.

Capital Calls: Fantasy-sports group M&A flop

26 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: DraftKings has walked away from Entain but the UK target may still attract interest.

Capital Calls: WeWork listing, Polish games maker

21 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: The battle-scarred office-sharing outfit finally started trading on the NYSE after its deal with a blank-check company closed; CD Projekt delays chunky updates to its flagship “Cyberpunk” video game, avoiding a repeat of last winter.

Capital Calls: Spanx’s “velvet ghetto”

20 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Blackstone’s investment in the undergarments company was closed by an all-woman team. That’s progress, but not the best kind.

Capital Calls: Pet retail scrap, Chubb, Czech IPO

8 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Buyout firm Hellman & Friedman matches EQT’s 3.4 bln euro bid for Germany’s Zooplus, putting the onus on its rival; the U.S. insurer buys the Asian assets of Cigna for $5.8 bln; haulage-fleet manager Eurowag makes a chaotic market debut.

Rivian risks reckless run onto public markets

4 Oct 2021

The electric-vehicle maker backed by Amazon and BlackRock only just started selling its first model. It’s also burning cash fast and Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce empire has the upper hand as a big customer for delivery vans. A mooted $80 bln valuation sounds like a runaway IPO.

Viewsroom: Basket-case Britain; Gambling in Macau

30 Sep 2021

Trucker shortages, partly thanks to Brexit, have been blamed for all manner of UK economic hardships, from toilet paper scarcities to long queues at petrol stations. Ed Cropley and Peter Thal Larsen explain. And our columnists in Hong Kong discuss casinos and investment banking.

Trucker shortage turbocharges haulage payments IPO

28 Sep 2021

Eurowag has built a lucrative business planning routes and handling payments for haulage firms. A dearth of drivers makes it more important to minimise empty trucks. Even a top-gear 1.7 bln euro valuation leaves mileage for investors in the Czech company’s upcoming London float.

UK trucker shortage tows inflation in its wake

27 Sep 2021

The government is recruiting foreign drivers, suspending competition rules and may use the army to ease a fuel crunch which triggered panic buying. That should limit the hit to Britain’s road-dependent economy. But sharply higher wages will accelerate annual inflation towards 4%.

UK bus groups bet on future bumps in the road

21 Sep 2021

National Express, the 1.4 bln pound transport company, is in talks to buy rival Stagecoach for over 400 mln pounds. An 18% premium in shares isn’t particularly attractive. But given rising labour costs and a potential slow recovery of traffic, neither is the alternative.