Simon Property Group, Kraft Heinz, United Parcel Service: Stocks That Defined the Week
May 01 2020 - 5:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Simon Property Group Inc.
U.S. malls are throwing open their doors in certain parts of the
country as some states loosen stay-at-home restrictions. Simon
Property Group, the largest U.S. mall landlord, planned to reopen
49 malls and outlet centers in the first days of May, The Wall
Street Journal reported Tuesday. Macy's Inc. will reopen 68 stores
on May 4, some of them located in Simon's properties, while Best
Buy Co. will open about 200 in May. Simon shares gained 11%
Tuesday.
3M Co.
3M's N95 face masks are still in high demand as health-care
workers treat coronavirus patients. The rest of its products? Not
so much. The company said Tuesday that demand has fallen for other
goods in its vast product line, such as industrial glues, as
factory closures ripple through the industrial economy. The maker
of Post-it Notes also said that sales of office supplies decreased
as many people began working from home. The company is cutting its
capital investments this year and is temporarily shutting down some
nonmask production lines due to weakened demand. About 25% of the
company's factories and warehouses were closed as of April. 3M
shares added 2.6% Tuesday.
United Parcel Service Inc.
UPS is doing more but making less. The delivery giant is logging
higher revenue as millions of homebound Americans shop online for
everything from toothpaste to trampolines during the coronavirus
pandemic. However, the more profitable business of delivering big
shipments to offices and stores has dried up since nonessential
businesses shut their doors. The company said its drivers are
traveling 10% farther and making 15% more stops on their daily
routes to keep up with rising demand for home deliveries. Those
packages are also 33% lighter, generating less revenue than the
bulkier shipments that would go to businesses. UPS shares fell 6%
Tuesday.
Boeing Co.
The world's biggest aerospace company plans to cut thousands of
jobs and raise fresh funds to survive after the near-collapse of
global passenger air travel. Already wounded financially by the
yearlong grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft, Boeing on Wednesday
reported its second consecutive quarterly loss alongside plans to
cut jetliner production and shed 10% of its workforce. Chief
Executive David Calhoun outlined a modest near-term plan: catering
to airliner retirements instead of fleet growth and holding off on
designing new aircraft. Boeing also plans to take on more debt and
is evaluating federal loans to support a supply chain of about
17,000 companies. Boeing shares gained 5.9% Wednesday.
Microsoft Corp.
The pickup in remote work and entertainment during the pandemic
is boosting demand for Microsoft services. On Wednesday, the
company reported strong growth in quarterly sales and profit, with
gains in areas from cloud computing to videogame consoles. The
health crisis has spurred use of Microsoft's workplace
collaboration software suite, called Teams, that includes
videoconferencing and messaging functions. It now has 75 million
daily active users, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, more than
double the number in early March. Microsoft shares added 1%
Thursday.
Kraft Heinz Co.
More people reached for the comfort of Kraft macaroni and cheese
during the spread of the new coronavirus earlier this year. Kraft
Heinz, which makes Kraft cheeses, Oscar Mayer cold cuts, Planters
nuts and other food products, said Thursday that boxes of mac and
cheese helped sales in the U.S. increase 6.4% to about $4.5
billion. It also reported strong growth in condiments and sauces,
ready-to-drink beverages, and nuts. The pandemic has stoked demand
for all kinds of grocery items, forcing packaged-food companies to
run their factories near their capacities to keep products flowing
to store shelves. Kraft Heinz shares fell 0.7% Thursday.
Amazon.com Inc.
The high demand for Amazon's home deliveries is coming at a
cost. Quarterly sales soared 26% after a coronavirus-fueled surge
in orders -- the highest on record for a typically slow period for
the company -- but profit fell 29% from a year earlier. The company
hired 175,000 more staffers as the flood of orders taxed its
operations, and world-wide shipping costs rose 49% from the
year-earlier period. Amazon expects to spend around $4 billion on
coronavirus-related costs such as employee testing and increased
wages after spending more than $600 million on such costs in the
first quarter. Amazon shares fell 7.6% Friday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 01, 2020 18:43 ET (22:43 GMT)
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