Twitter Considers Crypto Wallet, Geopolitical Woes To Keep Tesla Shares Volatile, Juul Explores Possible Bailout: Top Stories Tuesday, Oct. 25

Benzinga

Tesla Bull Cuts Price Target: Geopolitical Woes And US-China Economic Relations To Keep Shares Volatile

• Tesla Inc TSLA shares have been under pressure due to the soft patch the company is witnessing amid inclement economic and geopolitical conditions.
• Morgan Stanley analyst and Tesla bull Adam Jonas lowered his price target for Tesla shares from $350 to $330 but maintained his Overweight rating and continued to position the name as a core holding.

Elon Musk's Love Affair With Dogecoin Continues As Twitter Considers Crypto Wallet

• Twitter Inc TWTR is reportedly working on a cryptocurrency wallet that supports crypto deposits and withdrawals, according to Security Researcher Jane Wong.
• The social media platform recently launched a feature called "Tips," which enables users to link a third-party payment service and post their Bitcoin (BTC/USD) or Ethereum (ETH/USD) wallets to their accounts, allowing followers and supporters to tip in those cryptos.

Amazon Succeeds In Reversing Union Tide To Its Favor

• Amazon.com Inc AMZN workers backed from joining a union at a company warehouse in Southern California.
• According to National Labor Relations Board, the union withdrew its petition for an election at a warehouse in Moreno Valley, California.
• The Moreno Valley facility, called ONT8, is a critical hub for the Seattle-based e-commerce company, which relies heavily on imported goods from Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.

Novartis Clocks 4% Drop In Quarterly Sales, Once Again Perks Up Sandoz Earnings Outlook

• Novartis AG NVS has reported a core EPS of $1.58 in Q3 FY22 compared to $1.71 a year ago, beating the consensus of $1.57.
• Net sales were $12.54 billion, down 4% Y/Y or up 4% at constant currency (CC), missing the consensus of $12.99 billion.
• Operating income was $2.2 billion (-33%, -23% cc), mainly due to higher impairments ($0.5 billion) and higher restructuring costs ($0.4 billion).

AstraZeneca's Fasenra Flunks Late-Stage Trial In Patients With Esophagus Inflammation

• AstraZeneca Plc AZN has reported topline data from the MESSINA Phase 3 trial Fasenra (benralizumab) in Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) patients aged 12 years or older.
• The data showed that Fasenra did not meet one of the two dual-primary endpoints.

GE Posts Smaller Than Expected Q3 Earnings, Plans Restructuring In Vernova Unit

• General Electric Co GE reported Q3 FY22 adjusted sales of $18.4 billion, +7% organically, and GAAP total revenues of $19.1 billion, against the consensus of $18.72 billion.
• Total orders decreased by 9% Y/Y to $20 billion and down 7% on an organic basis.
• Adjusted EPS was $0.35, down from $0.53 a year ago and the consensus of $0.50.

UPS Posts Mixed Bag Q3 Earnings On Higher Delivery Prices; Sticks To Annual Guidance

• United Parcel Service Inc UPS reported Q3 FY22 sales of $24.2 billion, +4.2% Y/Y, slightly missing the consensus of $24.42 billion.
• Adjusted EPS improved by 10.3% Y/Y to $2.99, beating the consensus of $2.87.
• Consolidated operating profit was $3.1 billion, +7.5%, and up 6% on an adjusted basis.

Impairment Charges Weigh On HSBC Q3 Earnings, Names Georges Elhedery Finance Chief

• HSBC Holdings plc HSBC named Georges Elhedery as its new chief financial officer from 1 January 2023.
• Greg Guyett is appointed Chief Executive of Global Banking and Markets, effective immediately.
• The bank reported Q3 profit after tax of $2.56 billion, down from $4.24 billion a year ago, and profit before tax fell to $3.1 billion from $5.4 billion.
• The results included an impairment of $2.4 billion following the reclassification of retail banking operations in France to held for sale, net charge for expected credit losses, and other credit impairment charges.

Wall Street Journal

Warner Bros Discovery Expects Up To $4.3B In Restructuring From Discovery AT&T Deal

• Warner Bros Discovery, Inc WBD will likely incur $3.2 billion - $4.3 billion in pretax restructuring charges through 2024 from a cost-cutting effort following the merger of Discovery Inc and AT&T Inc's T WarnerMedia unit.
• The new management struggled to accomplish its commitment of $3 billion in cost savings through the merger.

Juul Explores Possible Bailout With Investment From Its Top Investors

• Altria Group Inc MO-backed Juul Labs Inc is reportedly in talks with top-notch investors, including Nick Pritzker and Riaz Valani. They are considering putting money into the company to potentially stave off a bankruptcy filing.
• Messrs. Pritzker and Valani were early investors in Juul, have been longtime directors, and are among the company's largest shareholders.

Bloomberg

FTC Fines CEO Of Uber Delivery Company For Data Hack

• The Federal Trade Commission penalized alcohol delivery company Drizly Inc and CEO Cory Rellas for alleged security lapses related to a 2020 data breach that exposed the personal information of 2.5 million consumers.
• The proposed order mandated Drizly, a subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc UBER, to destroy unnecessary data and restricts the information the company can collect and retain.
• In 2020, Drizly acknowledged that a hacker acquired some of its customer data.

Financial Times

Taiwan Semiconductor's Numero Uno Position Hit This Crucial Roadblock

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd TSM CEO CC Wei winced when his presentation at its recent tech symposium reflected its underperformance.
• Wei's presentation showed that further miniaturization of the chip to create circuits around 4 billionths of a meter wide had only produced a 2% increase in performance.
• "Just relying on transistors is no longer enough to meet our demands today and to meet [the requirements of] the products you design," Wei said.