Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft is scheduled to report its March quarter results after the US close this Thursday, and the company’s stock in the AI and cloud computing market will be of particular interest to investors.
Microsoft announced last quarter that its AI capabilities contributed 6 percentage points to its Azure revenue growth, up from 3% in the previous quarter, and analysts are hoping for more.
The consensus estimate among analysts tracked by FactSet is for revenue of $60.9 billion (£46.33 billion) and earnings of $2.82 per share.
In the year-ago period, Microsoft reported EPS of $2.45 and revenue of $52.86 billion.
In terms of business segments, Wall Street expects Microsoft to generate $19.54 billion in productivity and business process revenue, $26.25 billion in intelligent cloud revenue and $15.07 billion in personal computing revenue. .
Alphabet (GOOGL)
Google’s parent company also reported earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, and analysts expect a rebound in ad spending.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Alphabet to report earnings of $1.51 a share and revenue of $78.75 billion.
The expected year-over-year revenue growth is expected to be driven by improvements in Google Ads, driven by search and YouTube. We also expect strong subscription growth to support overall revenue.
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The company’s cloud services, a key growth driver, are expected to increase revenue by 25% in the first quarter as the tech giant executes its artificial intelligence strategy.
Investors will be watching Alphabet’s guidance and whether it can and continues to implement advances in its AI strategy.
Anglo American (AAL.L)
Miner Anglo American (AAL.L) saw its share price soar after receiving a takeover offer from BHP Group (BHP.L).
Shares rose to a nine-month high after BHP announced it had made a takeover offer, valuing the London-listed mining company’s share capital at £31.1bn. This partnership will create the world’s largest copper mine, accounting for approximately 10% of global production.
The proposal is conditional on Anglo first separating out South Africa’s platinum and iron ore sectors, suggesting BHP is primarily interested in Anglo’s copper resources.
Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The proposed takeover of Anglo American from BHP, the world’s largest listed mining company, will not only shake up the mining industry, it will also create new opportunities for the entire world. It’s going to bring a lot of cold air.” city of london.
“Even if this deal goes through, there are concerns that it is just the tip of the iceberg and that more major companies could leave the exchange.
“There has been speculation that Shell may be leaving for New York, rumors that Ocado is considering a move to the Big Apple, and that homegrown chip designer Arm is heading to the Nasdaq rather than the FTSE. The topic has grown in response to the overwhelming disappointment of the choice.” 100. ”
IBM stock fell as much as 8% in premarket trading after the hardware and software provider reported lower-than-analyst-expected first-quarter revenue.
IBM also announced it would acquire HashiCorp in a deal valued at $6.4 billion to expand its cloud-based software offerings and capitalize on the AI-powered boom.
The Armonk, New York-based company said first-quarter sales rose 1% to $14.46 billion, below expectations of $14.55 billion. This is his third revenue decline in the past five quarters for the company.
IBM also reiterated its previous guidance for free cash flow of $12 billion for the fiscal year ending December.
“This quarter saw both longer backlogs due to large-scale digital transformation and lower levels of revenue realization as customers tightened discretionary spending,” said Jim Cavanaugh, IBM’s head of finance. ” he said.
AstraZeneca (AZN.L)
AstraZeneca’s stock price has risen on strong demand for its oncology and rare blood disease drugs after the company reported quarterly sales and profits that beat market expectations.
Oncology, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s top business, saw first-quarter sales rise 26% to $5.12 billion.
Earnings per share excluding certain items rose 7% to $2.06 in the first quarter. The average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg was $1.89.
Notable developments in the quarter included positive trial results for Imfinzi and Tagrisso in lung cancer, as well as US and EU approvals for several other drugs.
AstraZeneca reiterated its full-year outlook for low-double-digit to low-teens growth in both total revenue and EPS.
The group announced that its total dividend for this year will increase by $0.20 to $3.10 per share.
Unilever maintained its full-year outlook after a strong first quarter in which all five of its business units contributed to underlying sales growth.
The consumer goods giant, which owns Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, posted underlying sales growth of 4.4% in the first quarter of this year. The ice cream business grew by 2.3%.
Shares rose 5% after the company said it expects sales to rise 3% to 5% this year.
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In the first three months of this year, sales increased by 1.4% to 15 billion euros. Beauty & Wellbeing (7.4%) and Personal Care (4.8%) showed strong growth, offsetting weak performance in Home Care (3.1%). Nutrition (3.7%) and Ice Cream (2.3%).
Hein Schumacher, CEO “We are rapidly implementing our growth action plan.”
“This is underpinned by our commitment to do less, do more, and have more impact.”
Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L)
Sainsbury’s has reported strong food sales after spending heavily to keep prices down to attract customers.
The UK’s second-largest supermarket expects to make more than £1bn in profits this year as more customers take up its Nectar card scheme and easing inflation.
Sainsbury’s announced a 1.6% rise in pre-tax profits for the year to March 2 to £701m.
On a statutory basis, pre-tax profits fell 15.3% to £277m, hurt by the restructuring of its financial services division and its failure to fully pass on interest rate increases to customers.
Sainsbury’s food business performed well, but general merchandise sales, including its Argos business, fell 0.5% and clothing sales fell 6.4%.
The group said:
“We expect our grocery sales volume to continue to grow ahead of the market and our profit leverage to increase.”
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