Tech Stocks Climb on Waning Rate Worries – Wall Street Journal, 5/7/2021

• A lackluster monthly jobs report sparked a rebound in technology shares and other growth stocks Friday while triggering a decline in government-bond yields.
• The Nasdaq Composite added 1.3%, outpacing its peers. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.7%, a day after the broad-market index closed near its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 146 points, or 0.4%.
• The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell as low as 1.487%, according to Tradeweb, compared with roughly 1.570% just before the report was released and 1.561% Thursday.
• But it was recently back to 1.544%—at the lower end of its trading range for the past several weeks—and on track for a sixth consecutive day of declines.
• The monthly jobs report showed employers added 266,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rose to 6.1%.
• These figures significantly missed the expectations of economists who estimated that payrolls grew by one million and the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. It sat at a record 14.8% in April 2020 in the midst of the early stages of the pandemic.
• In commodities, copper prices surpassed their 2011 highs and were on course to close at a record, fueled by bets on the global economic rebound and on rising demand from efforts to decarbonize the power and transportation sectors.
• Three-month copper forwards rose 2.4% to $10,355 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. In New York, copper futures on CME Group’s Comex rose 2.5% to $4.72 a pound.
• Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.6%.
• The Shanghai Composite Index pulled back 0.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.1%.

Covid-19 Live Updates: Nearly a Third of the U.S. Population Is Fully Vaccinated – Wall Street Journal, 5/7/2021

• Newly reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. remained under 50,000 for the third day in a row, as the number of fully vaccinated people neared a third of the population.
• The U.S. reported just over 47,000 new cases for Thursday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University that was published early Friday Eastern Time. The data may update later.
• Thursday’s figure was up slightly from Wednesday’s total of 44,510 but down from the 58,199 new cases reported a week ago.
• The U.S. death toll from Covid-19 topped 580,000, with 786 fatalities reported for Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins data.
• Vaccinations in the U.S. continued at a slower pace than last month, with an average of 2.1 million doses administered a day over the past week.
• Even so, 32.8% of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated, according to a Journal analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Levels are higher among the elderly, with more than 70% of people age 65 or older fully vaccinated.
• New York City, meanwhile, plans to offer tourists a shot of a Covid-19 vaccine as part of a push to draw more foot traffic to city attractions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.
• Tourists would be offered the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The initiative still requires state approval because current regulations allow only people living or working in the state to get vaccinated, Mr. de Blasio said.

Roku Reports 79% Jump in Revenue in Latest Quarter – Wall Street Journal, 5/7/2021

• Roku reported that first-quarter revenue surged 79% in the latest quarter as the streaming-media service continued to get a boost from homebound customers consuming more content during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The company’s revenue rose to $574.2 million for the March quarter, up from $320.8 million a year earlier.
• Analysts had estimated $491.6 million, according to FactSet.
• Revenue at Roku’s platform business, which includes ad sales, doubled to $466.5 million.
• Roku’s player unit had 53.6 million active accounts at the end of the quarter.
• Those accounts streamed a total of 18.3 billion hours in the quarter, an increase of 49% over the previous year.
• Average revenue per user was $32.14, a 32% increase from last year.
• The streaming-media hub recorded a first-quarter profit of $76.3 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with a loss of $54.6 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts were projecting a per-share loss of 13 cents.
• For the current quarter, Roku targeted revenue of $610 million to $620 million, above analysts’ current $550 million projection.

Square sails past profit estimates as bitcoin volumes surge – Reuters, 5/7/2021

• Payments firm Square handily beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit on Thursday, as surging demand for bitcoin fueled a jump in cryptocurrency transactions on its peer-to-peer payment service Cash App.
• Total net revenue jumped nearly four-fold to $5.06 billion.
• Cash App generated $3.51 billion in bitcoin revenue, up eleven times from a year earlier, in a quarter when the most popular cryptocurrency hit $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time.
• Gross payment volumes (GPV), a measure of the transactions processed on Square’s platform, rose 29% in the first quarter to $33.1 billion.
• Stripping out one-time costs, the payments firm, led by Twitter top boss Jack Dorsey, earned 41 cents per share.
• Analysts on average had expected 16 cents per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Datadog stock surges on earnings, outlook beat – MarketWatch, 5/7/2021

• Datadog reported a first-quarter loss of $13.1 million versus net income of $6.5 million in the year-ago period.
• Revenue rose to $198.5 million from $131.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
• Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast revenue of $186.6 million.
• Datadog expects adjusted earnings of 3 cents to 4 cents a share on revenue of $211 million to $213 million in the second quarter, and 13 cents to 16 cents a share on revenue of $880 million to $890 million for the year.
• Analysts forecast 3 cents a share on revenue of $196.6 million for the quarter, and 14 cents a share on revenue of $833.7 million for the year.

Expedia Beats Estimates With Travel Demand ‘Roaring Back’ – Bloomberg, 5/7/2021

• Expedia Group blitzed analysts’ estimates for several growth metrics in the first quarter, buoyed by a surge in domestic travel and vacation-rental demand.
• Gross bookings were down only 14% compared with a year earlier — a significant improvement from the nearly 70% decline in the previous two quarters and better than analysts had expected.
• Revenue fell 44% to $1.25 billion, the Seattle-based company said Thursday in a statement, slightly ahead of analysts’ estimates.
• Vrbo, which competes directly with Airbnb Inc., has weathered the pandemic better than its parent as travelers sought out regional staycations and remote work getaways. Expedia doesn’t disclose Vrbo metrics, but analysts expect the unit will lead Expedia’s recovery.
• Expedia reported an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $58 million.
• Analysts were expecting a loss of $137.3 million.
• The adjusted loss per share was $2.02, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.27.

DraftKings raises full-year guidance, expecting a return in sports – CNBC, 5/7/2021

• Sports-betting company DraftKings on Friday reported a better-than-feared loss per share and higher revenue for its first quarter and raised its full-year revenue guidance.
• Revenue: $312 million vs $236.2 million expected in the Refinitiv survey
• DraftKings said it had 1.5 million monthly unique paying customers as of its first quarter, holding onto the gains in made in its fourth quarter. It was expected to report 1.31 million, according to FactSet.
• Average revenue per monthly unique paying customer came in at $61 in the first quarter, representing a 48% increase versus the same period in 2020.
• Loss per share: 36 cents vs an expected loss of 42 cents in a Refinitiv survey of analysts
• The company also raised its fiscal year 2021 revenue guidance to a range of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion from $900 million to $1 billion, which equates to year-over-year growth of 63% to 79%. DraftKings credited the expected return of normal sports seasons for the increase in guidance.

Peloton Cuts Forecast Due to Treadmill Recall – Wall Street Journal, 5/7/2021

• Peloton Interactive said a recall of its treadmills will dent revenue and profit, as the company grapples with returns and halted sales while tries to fix the design of the machines.
• Revenue for the quarter rose to $1.26 billion, up from $524.6 million a year earlier, as demand for remote workout classes and at-home fitness gear continues to surge during the pandemic.
• Peloton said the number of people subscribing to its remote fitness classes reached 2.08 million in the quarter ended March 31, an indicator of demand for its stationary bicycles and treadmills. The tally stood at 1.67 million at the end of December.
• Peloton reported a loss of $8.6 million, compared with a $55.6 million loss a year ago.
• The connected-fitness company on Thursday predicted recalling and halting sales on two lines of treadmills will cost $165 million in the current quarter, and it lowered sales and profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending June 30. Executives said it isn’t clear when the treadmills will return to the market.

Beyond Meat loss exceeds forecasts on higher costs, slow restaurant sales – Reuters, 5/7/2021

• Beyond Meat on Thursday reported a wider quarterly loss than expected, as the plant-based meat maker incurred higher freight costs, spent heavily on testing new product launches, and sold less to pandemic-hit restaurants.
• In the first quarter ended April 3, net revenue rose about 11% to $108.2 million, missing estimates of $113.7 million.
• Its bottom line swung to a net loss of $26.8 million from a profit of $1.8 million a year ago.
• Beyond Meat expects second-quarter revenue in the range of $135 million to $150 million, a rise of 19% to 32%. Analysts had forecast revenue of $142.8 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

News Corp quarterly revenue beats on digital push – Reuters, 5/7/2021

• Wall Street Journal parent News Corp beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as the company’s digital push helped its Dow Jones unit attract more subscribers.
• The Rupert Murdoch-led publisher’s total revenue rose 3% to $2.34 billion in the three months ended March 31, above analysts’ estimate of $2.2 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
• Revenue from Dow Jones, which provides news and business information, rose 6% to $421 million during the quarter.
• The Wall Street Journal’s digital-only subscriptions grew 29% to 2.63 million average subscriptions in the quarter, and represented 78% of its total subscriptions.

AIG profit beats estimates on general insurance, retirement gains – Reuters, 5/7/2021

• American International Group beat first-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, as strong performance in its general insurance and life and retirement units blunted the hit from winter storms and coronavirus-related mortality claims.
• Gross premiums written rose 6% to $10.73 billion in the general insurance business, driven by the insurer’s North America and international commercial lines.
• The insurer’s general insurance accident year combined ratio – which excludes catastrophe losses – was 92.4 for the quarter, compared with 95.5 a year earlier.
• AIG’s life and retirement unit posted a 57% jump in adjusted pre-tax income to $941 million, driven partly by higher private equity returns.
• The company posted an underwriting income of $73 million in its general insurance business in the quarter, compared with a loss of $87 million a year earlier, when it booked large losses related to the pandemic.
• AIG, one of the largest U.S. insurers, said it had set aside $422 million for catastrophe losses in the unit, primarily related to winter storms, but estimated no COVID-19-related losses.
• Adjusted after-tax income attributable to AIG common shareholders rose to $923 million in the quarter ended March 31, from $105 million a year earlier.

Walmart Deal Shows Expansion in Telehealth, New Front With Amazon – Wall Street Journal, 5/7/2021

• Walmart said Thursday it purchased telehealth provider MeMD and plans to offer nationwide virtual health care services, another sign of the retail behemoth’s healthcare ambitions.
• The acquisition will allow Walmart to expand its Walmart Health service around the country, the company said.
• The retail giant didn’t disclose the financial details of the transaction.
• The MeMD deal opens another front in which Walmart and Amazon will compete, as Amazon recently announced plans to provide its telehealth service, Amazon Care, to its nearly one million U.S. employees by summer.
• Amazon Care, which now serves company workers in Washington state, will also be offered to other employers.

NYSE to Delist Chinese Telecoms Carriers After Rejecting Appeals – Wall Street Journal, 5/7/2021

• China’s big three telecoms carriers lost their appeals against being kicked off the New York Stock Exchange and will be delisted to comply with an investment ban introduced by former President Donald Trump.
• In separate filings Friday in Hong Kong, China Mobile, China Unicom (Hong Kong) and China Telecom said they expected the NYSE to apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to delist their American depositary receipts.
• The delistings will take effect 10 days after the SEC is notified.
• The trio said Friday that investors may swap outstanding ADRs for Hong Kong shares by returning them to the Bank of New York Mellon. All three reiterated that they had followed laws, regulations and listing requirements since going public.
• The blacklist covers dozens of companies in sectors such as energy, aviation, transportation and technology, although most other targets weren’t listed in the U.S. The order has led index providers such as MSCI Inc., FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones Indices to cut some securities from their indexes.