Top Stories Thursday, Aug 10: Disney Explores Strategic Shift Away from Traditional TV, FTX Management & Creditors Clash, Alibaba's Q1 Earnings

Financial Times

Walt Disney Co DIS is exploring options for its portfolio of TV networks marking its focus on film studios, theme parks, and streaming.
CEO Bob Iger mentioned that the company is considering strategic partnerships for ESPN, with the likelihood that its premium sports programming will eventually shift entirely to streaming.
Iger was obvious that the linear TV assets are for sale, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Partners.

Bloomberg

FTX (FTT/USD) management is taking issue with traders and market makers on a principal creditor committee, alleging they are attempting to dominate assets without considering the repercussions for other involved parties.
This contention emerged following the release of a preliminary restructuring proposal last month by FTX's current CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer John J. Ray III.
Unsecured creditors claim they weren't adequately consulted and argue that FTX could achieve better returns from its substantial cash and token reserves.

Wall Street Journal

Amazon.Com, Inc AMZN significantly reduces its private-label operation to address antitrust scrutiny and enhance profitability.
Over the past year, the company has decided to eliminate 27 out of its 30 clothing brands, including Lark & Ro, Daily Ritual, and Goodthreads.
The company is gradually phasing out the brands, selling off the remaining inventory. This strategic move will leave Amazon's clothing division with only three remaining house-label brands: Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection, and Amazon Aware.

Benzinga

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) reported first-quarter FY23 revenue growth of 14% year-on-year to $32.29 billion, beating the consensus of $31.20 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per ADS of $2.40 beat the consensus of $2.02.
Revenue from China's commerce retail business grew by 13% Y/Y to $15.15 billion, led by Taobao and Tmall. Taobao app grew average daily active users (DAU) by 6.5% Y/Y. The growth also reflected a successful 6.18 Shopping Festival.

Plug Power Inc PLUG said second-quarter revenue increased 72% year-over-year to $260.18 million, which beat the consensus estimate of $242.24 million.
Plug reported a quarterly loss of 40 cents per share, which missed analyst estimates for a loss of 26 cents per share.
Plug reaffirmed its full-year 2023 revenue guidance of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion versus analyst consensus of $1.28 billion.

Wolverine World Wide Inc WWW reported second-quarter revenues of $589.10 million, beating the analyst consensus of $579.97 million. Revenues declined 17.4% year over year.
The footwear, apparel, and accessories firm reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.19 was in line with the street view.
Wolverine Worldwide cuts FY23 revenue from ongoing business outlook from $2.53 billion-$2.58 billion to $2.26 billion-$2.28 billion, against the consensus of $2.51 billion.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp SIX reported second-quarter FY23 sales growth of 2% year-on-year to $443.71 million, missing the analyst consensus of $459.03 million.
Attendance was 7.1 million guests in the quarter, a 6% Y/Y increase. Total guest spending per capita was $60.76, down 5% Y/Y.
Adjusted EPS for the quarter of $0.72 missed the estimate of $0.78.

The FDA issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) to Galera Therapeutics Inc's GRTX New Drug Application (NDA) for avasopasem manganese (avasopasem) for radiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis (SOM) in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing standard-of-care treatment.
According to the CRL, the FDA remains unconvinced by the Phase 3 ROMAN trial and the GT-201 trial data. They have expressed the need for another clinical study to be convinced of avasopasem's efficacy and safety.

Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk A/S NVO reported a strong increase in first-half sales and profits and also hiked its guidance for the full year for the second time this year.
Novo Nordisk said its net sales for the first half of the year climbed 29% year-over-year to 107.67 billion Danish Kroner ($15.89 billion).
The company raised its guidance for the full year. The Danish company now expects sales growth of 27%-33% in constant exchange rate and operating profit growth of 27%-33%. This compares to the previous expectations for growth of 24%-30% and 28%-34%, respectively.

Novo Nordisk A/S NVO agreed to buy Canada's Inversago Pharma, a metabolic disorders specialist focusing on developing peripherally acting CB1 receptor (CB1r) blocker therapies, for up to $1.075 billion.
Inversago's lead development asset INV-202 is an oral CB1 inverse agonist.
INV-202 demonstrated weight loss potential in the phase 1b trial and is currently in a phase 2 trial for diabetic kidney disease.

CNBC

Two key executives from Amazon.Com Inc's AMZN drone delivery program, Prime Air, have quit, posing a setback for the ambitious drone delivery initiative.
Jim Mullin, Prime Air's chief pilot, quit in July. Robert Dreer, responsible for test operations, departed last week to join Opener, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft startup.
Prime Air has struggled to become fully operational since its announcement in 2013 by Jeff Bezos. Prime Air faced challenges due to regulatory restrictions on drone deliveries and a series of crashes in recent years.

Disney Explores Strategic Shift Away from Traditional TV, FTX Management & Creditors Clash, Alibaba's Q1 Earnings: Today's Top Stories