Procter & Gamble, Nike, Tesla: Stocks That Defined the Week
October 25 2019 - 5:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Nike Inc.
Can John Donahoe 'Just Do It'? The former eBay Inc. CEO was
named late Tuesday as the new boss of Nike, succeeding longtime
leader Mark Parker. The change marks a strategic shift atop the
world's biggest sportswear brand. Nike has posted strong apparel
and sneaker sales, but it has also faced public relations crises
like the ban of Nike's top running coach amid doping allegations
and concerns about the company's workplace culture. Mr. Donahoe
will take over in January and Mr. Parker will become Nike's
executive chairman. Nike shares fell 3.4% Wednesday.
SoftBank Group Corp.
WeWork and its CEO Adam Neumann found a rescuer in SoftBank,
which agreed to take control of the floundering office-space
startup. The arrangement hands Mr. Neumann nearly $1.7 billion and
severs most of his ties with the company. The Japanese conglomerate
said Tuesday it agreed to provide Mr. Neumann a $185 million
consulting fee, a $500 million credit line and the ability to sell
up to $970 million of his stock. Thousands of WeWork staff are
slated to be laid off soon, The Wall Street Journal reported.
American depositary shares of SoftBank fell 1.8% Wednesday.
Tesla Inc.
Tesla found a new gear late Wednesday when it delivered a
surprising profit for the third quarter, easing investor fears that
the electric car maker's pursuit of growth and record production
figures would come at the expense of the bottom line. Tesla's trial
production of its compact Model 3 car has started at a new facility
in China, the company said, and production on its new Model Y
compact sport-utility vehicle is ahead of schedule with a launch
set for next summer. The company cautioned that new products could
affect its margins. Shares added 18% Thursday.
Facebook Inc.
The nation's capital is preparing for war with Silicon Valley.
The top U.S. prosecutor investigating tech giants like Facebook and
Alphabet Inc.'s Google made clear Tuesday that breaking up the
Silicon Valley companies is "on the table." Makan Delrahim, head of
the Justice Department's antitrust division, said at the WSJ Tech
Live conference that while consumers have benefited from greater
convenience made possible by technology "the big question is: Are
companies abusing the market power that they have gained?" Facebook
shares fell 3.9% Tuesday.
Walt Disney Co.
Can "Thor: Ragnarok" hold its own against "Goodfellas" and "The
Godfather?" Robert Iger thinks so. Disney's chief executive,
speaking at the WSJ Tech Live conference on Tuesday, countered
criticism from "Goodfellas" director Martin Scorsese and 'The
Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola about Marvel Studios'
superhero movies. Mr. Scorsese compared the movies to "theme parks"
and Mr. Coppola called them despicable. "I reserve the word
'despicable' for someone who committed mass murder," said Mr. Iger
on Tuesday. "These are movies." Disney shares added 1.6%
Tuesday.
Amazon.com Inc.
Amazon.com's performance in the third quarter wasn't exactly
'prime.' Profits fell 26% from a year ago, weighed down by the
heavy investment required to reduce shipping times for retail
customers. The third quarter is typically when spending rises ahead
of the all-important holiday season, and the company expects to
spend more in the fourth quarter on its one-day free shipping for
Prime subscribers. CFO Brian Olsavsky said late Thursday that
speedier shipping is causing Prime members to shop more. Amazon
shares fell 1.1% Friday.
Procter & Gamble Co.
Consumers are paying higher prices for household essentials like
laundry soap and toothpaste. That is good news for companies like
Procter & Gamble, the maker of everything from Tide detergent
to Bounty paper towels. P&G said Tuesday that it posted another
quarter of strong sales. Kimberly-Clark also said higher prices
were largely responsible for its latest quarterly sales increase.
P&G shares gained 2.6% Tuesday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2019 18:03 ET (22:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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