Financial results Archives - The Entrepreneur Times

Novavax falls short of quarterly expectations, yet the vaccine manufacturer reduces losses by cutting expenses.

Posted on February 28, 2024September 1, 2024 by admin

Novavax, the vaccine manufacturer, reported Q4 revenue and earnings below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, emphasizing its ongoing efforts to cut costs and remain financially stable. Despite a decline in demand for its Covid vaccine and other virus-related products worldwide, the company managed to narrow losses compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are Novavax’s Q4 results compared to Wall Street expectations, based on an LSEG analyst survey:

Loss per share: $1.44 (actual) vs. expected loss of 45 cents
Revenue: $291.3 million (actual) vs. expected $322 million

The company recorded a net loss of $178.4 million, or $1.44 per share, for the quarter, an improvement from the $182.2 million loss, or $2.28 per share, in the same quarter the previous year. Novavax’s Q4 sales were $291.3 million, down from $357.4 million in the corresponding period in the previous year.

Novavax CEO John Jacobs explained that some revenue had shifted from 2023 to 2024 due to the timing of advance purchase agreements for its Covid shot, clarifying it as a timing element rather than lost sales.

Looking ahead, Novavax anticipates full-year 2024 revenue between $800 million and $1 billion. This projection includes expected revenue from dose delivery schedules and commercial market product sales. Analysts surveyed by LSEG, however, expect 2024 revenue to be around $969.6 million.

For Q1 2024, Novavax forecasts revenue of $100 million, reflecting the conclusion of the current Covid vaccination season, a decrease from the previously expected $300 million.

The company reiterated its commitment to cost-cutting and plans to reduce combined research, development, selling, general, and administrative expenses to a range of $700 million to $800 million in 2024. Novavax had already reduced these expenses to $1.21 billion last year, down from $1.69 billion in 2022. Operating expenses in 2023 were cut by $1.1 billion (41%) compared to 2022, and the workforce was reduced by 30% compared to Q1 2023.

These financial results follow concerns raised by Novavax about its financial stability a year ago, with shares falling more than 50% in the previous year. However, the stock received a significant boost last week when the company resolved a dispute with Gavi, a global vaccine organization, regarding a canceled Covid vaccine purchase agreement. Novavax may pay $300 to $400 million, depending on Gavi’s future vaccine orders over the next five years.

Disney surpasses earnings expectations and increases dividends as losses in streaming services decrease.

Posted on February 9, 2024September 1, 2024 by admin

Disney (DIS) announced a 50% increase in its cash dividend on Wednesday, accompanied by fiscal first-quarter earnings that surpassed expectations, and a reduction in streaming losses. The stock experienced a nearly 12% surge in value on Thursday in response to the positive results.

The reported adjusted earnings per share were $1.22, significantly surpassing the $0.99 predicted by Bloomberg analysts. Disney also provided guidance for full-year fiscal 2024 earnings, projecting $4.60 per share, reflecting a minimum 20% increase from 2023.

While revenue slightly missed expectations at $23.5 billion compared to the anticipated $23.8 billion, Disney declared a cash dividend of $0.45 per share, marking a 50% increase from the previous dividend in January. Shareholders as of July 8 will receive the dividend on July 25.

Additionally, Disney’s board approved a new share repurchase program targeting $3 billion in purchases for fiscal year 2024.

Despite challenges in its linear TV and parks businesses, as well as streaming losses, Disney is actively addressing these issues. CEO Bob Iger has implemented cost-cutting measures, with the company on track to meet or exceed its $7.5 billion annualized savings target by the end of fiscal 2024.

The company made several significant announcements, including a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, emphasizing its entry into the world of video games. Disney+ will exclusively stream “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version),” and a sequel to “Moana” is set to hit theaters in November.

Moreover, Disney outlined plans for its ESPN streaming service, set to launch in fall 2025, and provided updates on its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox to launch a new sports streaming service this fall.

In the streaming sector, Disney reported narrowed losses of $138 million, with an increase in streaming prices contributing to the improvement. While core Disney+ subscribers saw a slight sequential decline, the company expects to add 5.5 million to 6 million users in the second quarter.

Disney anticipates reaching profitability in its combined streaming businesses by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. The company is also implementing measures, including cracking down on password sharing, which is expected to show benefits in the latter half of the year.

The restructuring of Disney into three core business segments—Disney Entertainment, Experiences, and Sports—has shown positive results. Despite struggles in linear networks, the overall performance, especially in the entertainment and experiences divisions, reflects growth and improvement.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund records its largest gain in nearly three years at $4 billion, as tech valuations recover.

Posted on February 8, 2024September 1, 2024 by admin

SoftBank, in the December quarter, achieved its most substantial gain in nearly three years at its flagship tech investment arm, the Vision Fund, driven by a rebound in technology company valuations. Here’s a breakdown of SoftBank’s performance against LSEG estimates:

Net sales: 1.77 trillion Japanese yen ($11.9 billion) versus the expected 1.8 trillion Japanese yen.
Net income: 950 billion Japanese yen versus the expected 196.5 billion yen.

The Vision Fund reported a gain on investment of 600.7 billion Japanese yen, marking a continued recovery from record losses in the previous fiscal year. This gain is the highest since the March 2021 quarter.

Notably, SoftBank achieved its first quarterly profit in five quarters, marking a turnaround from four consecutive losses.

In the prior fiscal year ending in March, the Vision Fund faced challenges, posting a record loss of around $32 billion due to a decline in tech stock prices and setbacks in some Chinese business ventures.

The Vision Fund has shown positive results in the last three quarters, with rising valuations from key investments in Didi, the Chinese ride-hailing app, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son announced a shift to “defense” mode in 2022, slowing investments and adopting a cautious approach. However, in June, Son indicated a move to “offense” mode, expressing excitement about the potential of artificial intelligence technology, an area where the Vision Fund has investments, including in China’s SenseTime.

In the December quarter, SoftBank gained $5.5 billion from the sale of shares of its majority-owned chip designer, Arm, which went public in the U.S. last year. SoftBank’s CFO, Yoshimitsu Goto, highlighted Arm’s significant contribution to the global AI evolution.

SoftBank has undergone a strategic shift from being “Alibaba-centric” to an “AI-centric” portfolio. The company has reduced its stake in Alibaba, with the Chinese giant accounting for nearly zero percent of SoftBank’s assets at the end of the December quarter, down from 50% at the end of December 2019. In contrast, Arm’s contribution to SoftBank’s assets has increased from 9% to 32% during the same period.

As the lock-up period for Arm shares post-IPO expires in March, there is speculation that SoftBank might consider a buyback of its own shares by selling Arm stock. Goto emphasized SoftBank’s reduced investment exposure to China, indicating a shift in the company’s focus.

Tencent Reports Strong Quarterly Revenue Growth, Exceeding Expectations

Posted on May 17, 2023August 31, 2024 by admin

Tencent, one of China’s leading technology conglomerates, announced impressive financial results for the first quarter, with an 11% jump in quarterly revenue. This marks the company’s fastest growth in over a year, driven by significant rebounds in payment volumes, ad sales, and gaming.

In terms of revenue, Tencent generated 150 billion Chinese yuan ($21.4 billion), surpassing the Refinitiv consensus estimate of 146.09 billion yuan, representing an 11% year-on-year increase. However, the profit attributable to equity holders of the company stood at 25.8 billion yuan, falling short of the expected 31 billion yuan, demonstrating a 10% rise year-on-year.

These results indicate a strong recovery for Tencent after experiencing a series of negative and flat quarters. The company attributed its success to the solid revival of domestic consumption in China. As the country gradually eased its aggressive Covid-19 restrictions starting in December, Tencent benefited from this improved environment.

Tencent highlighted that net profit showed accelerated growth due to a positive revenue mix shift, operational efficiencies, and a favorable base period. Investors have been closely monitoring the reopening of China’s economy to gauge its potential impact on the country’s tech giants, including Tencent. With China’s economy growing at a rate of 4.5% in the first quarter, the fastest pace in a year, the outlook appears promising.

The Chinese tech industry has faced heightened scrutiny in recent times, as part of a broader regulatory tightening aimed at the domestic technology sector since late 2020. This regulatory landscape led to a significant decrease of over $1 trillion in combined market capitalization for China’s major companies. However, there are now indications that the central government is adopting a more lenient approach toward internet giants like Tencent, Alibaba, and Didi.

Earlier this year, Chinese regulators imposed a freeze on new video game releases, adversely impacting Tencent. Nevertheless, there has been a gradual easing of restrictions in the past few months, resulting in the approval of more titles for release. Amid a challenging domestic gaming market, Tencent has shifted its focus to international markets.

While Tencent remains a major owner and investor in tech businesses worldwide, it has been divesting some of its equity investments in response to Beijing’s concerns regarding the size of domestic tech companies.

Tencent’s robust performance in the first quarter demonstrates its resilience and ability to adapt to changing market conditions. The company’s growth trajectory is closely tied to the evolving regulatory landscape and the continued recovery of the Chinese economy.

Tag: Financial results

SoftBank’s Vision Fund records its largest gain in nearly three years at $4 billion, as tech valuations recover.

Tencent Reports Strong Quarterly Revenue Growth, Exceeding Expectations

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