Corporate results:

  • Anheuser-Busch InBev reports earnings down but ahead of expectations.
  • HP Inc missed Wall Street estimates for its first-quarter sales on Wednesday, hit by sluggish demand in the PC market. The stock lost 4.4% in pre-market trading.
  • London Stock Exchange announces results in line with forecasts and confirms share buyback.
  • Moncler improves revenues by 17% and earnings by 21% in 2023.
  • Monster Beverage gains 6% in after-hours trading.
  • Ocado forecasts stronger future growth.
  • Snowflake plunged 20% after posting disappointing results.
  • Universal Music Group to cut jobs and streamline operations to save €250m.
  • Paramount Global missed Wall Street estimates for its quarterly sales on Wednesday, but posted an unexpected profit, boosted by streaming-related gains. The stock gained 2.3% before the opening.
  • CRH forecasts Ebitda growth of 6% to 10% in 2024 after the largest building materials producer in the US and Europe posted 15% growth for 2023 on Thursday, beating its own forecasts.
  • Salesforce fell after it forecast sales for fiscal 2025 below market expectations, as it expects low customer spending on its cloud computing and professional products.
  • Duolingo - The language-learning platform is up 21.1% before the opening after forecasting 2024 revenues in the $790-$802 million range, against a consensus of $699.3 million.

In other news:

  • The SEC is investigating the way OpenAI presented its assets to investors, according to the WSJ.
  • Boeing must develop a comprehensive plan to resolve "systemic quality control issues" within 90 days, the head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. The U.S. Justice Department is also looking into last month's incident, in which a panel ripped off mid-air, which could expose the company to criminal prosecution, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The stock loses 1% before the opening.
  • The US Justice Department is looking into Boeing after the latest incident, according to Bloomberg.
  • Ford - A U.S. regulator announced on Thursday that it was opening an investigation into the recall of some 44,219 vehicles due to loss of brake and power steering effectiveness.
  • Chemours has appointed an interim CEO and CFO, the group said on Wednesday, after delaying the publication of its quarterly and annual results due to doubts about the accuracy of its financial reports.
  • Reliance and Walt Disney confirmrf that they will merge their media activities in India.
  • Amadeus and Fiserv are reportedly eyeing Shift4 Payments.
  • EQT may list Galderma in Zurich as early as March, according to Bloomberg.
  • Alibaba cut cloud access prices to boost China's AI sector.
  • Electronic Arts will cut 5% of its workforce in a restructuring operation.
  • T-Mobile US retains Ericsson for 5G project.
  • GSK settles another trial involving heartburn drug Zantac in California.
  • AMS-Osram revised forecasts due to micro-LEDs, probably in connection with Apple's project changes.
  • Anheuser-Busch InBev and the Teamsters union reached an agreement in principle to avoid a strike in the USA.
  • Audi (Volkswagen) acquires Sauber's Formula 1 team to enter the circuit in 2026. Volkswagen and Xpeng announce that the first jointly produced car will be an electric SUV.
  • A judge reduced Bayer's $332 million Roundup verdict in California to $28 million.
  • Apple plans to unveil plans to use generative artificial intelligence later this year, CEO Tim Cook said at the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Wednesday.

Today's main earnings reports: Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Anheuser-Busch InBev, London Stock Exchange, Saint-Gobain, Haleon, Beiersdorf, ArgenX, Veolia...