Corona Capital: GM, Glaxo, Shopify, Movies, Pemex 29 Jul 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: General Motors pulls further ahead; GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccine-order boost; Shopify fills its revenue basket; AMC bows to online streaming’s growing power; Mexico’s oil giant puts on a brave face.
E-bikes give the two-wheeled market a jolt 24 Jul 2020 Pandemic-induced fear of public transport and state subsidies have boosted the $65 bln bicycle business. Growing numbers are opting for battery-assisted pedalling. As with cars, the shift is disruptive. Leaders like Shimano and Giant will have to make space for new players.
Corona Capital: Thanksgiving shopping, Airlines 22 Jul 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walmart gives thanks to employees; Airlines’ relative winners emerge.
Italy road saga hands Benettons life-saving finale 15 Jul 2020 The clan’s infrastructure group Atlantia could end a government dispute over a bridge disaster by letting state actors invest in its motorway unit, and list it. The shakedown may leave the group with a stake worth just 5 bln euros, but it’s better than a threatened expropriation.
Uber’s Postmates deal will barely touch the sides 6 Jul 2020 Boss Dara Khosrowshahi is removing a food delivery competitor at a cheap price. More than half of the deal’s $2.7 bln value will be recouped through cost savings. It’s also an amuse-bouche sized test of how regulators will respond to the ride-hailing firm’s future acquisitions.
Corona Capital: J.C. Penney, Hockey 17 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Executives at bankrupt clothing chain J.C. Penney sell their shares for, well, pennies; and ice hockey gear supplier Bauer adapts for the Covid-19 era.
Hapag-Lloyd sails into valuation Bermuda Triangle 14 May 2020 The German shipping giant’s shares have doubled in a month, to the bemusement of all including its CEO. A tiny 3.6% free-float may be part of the puzzle. But positive reasons for the valuation hike – brightening horizons, M&A fever or short-sellers caught short – are absent.
Corona Capital: Beyond Meat, Facebook, Natixis 6 May 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Beyond Meat’s stock burn, Facebook installs an oversight board, Natixis’s bad news-good news situation.
Messy Air France-KLM rescue has lessons for others 27 Apr 2020 The French and Dutch governments are lending their respective parts of the ailing carrier up to 11 bln euros. The tricky bailout exposes the frailty of the 2004 merger. Germany’s Lufthansa, which owns Swiss and Austrian, and Anglo-Spanish operator IAG may face similar challenges.
EasyJet files turbulent post-virus flight plan 16 Apr 2020 The budget carrier hopes face masks and empty middle seats will speed up a return to the skies. Such measures will reduce profit as well as infection risks but lower taxes and fuel prices could help. The bigger question is how soon punters will feel safe enough to travel again.
Virus-hit airlines can fly without state thrust 12 Mar 2020 A U.S. ban on European travellers hammered airline stocks on both sides of the Atlantic. Washington doled out $15 bln of aid after the post-9/11 shutdown. But airlines are bigger now and fitter, letting them ride out turbulence. Regulatory leeway may suffice.
GM’s electric plan gives Musk a fresh challenge 4 Mar 2020 Boss Mary Barra unveiled an industry-leading 400-mile-range battery and $20 bln to invest in new tech by 2025. Sure, her estimated electric car sales will only have GM crawling towards its “zero emissions” goal. But it poses a more serious threat to Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Robo-taxis’ earnings horsepower 3 Mar 2020 General Motors reckons autonomous cabs can be a $1 trln market in the United States alone. That requires some heady assumptions about how cheap running such a service can be, and how many people can be persuaded to ditch car ownership for robo-rides.
Robo-taxi payday is a marathon self-drive away 3 Mar 2020 The prospect of mass adoption of autonomous cars has won Alphabet unit Waymo outside investors, helped boost Tesla’s stock and has GM positing a $5 trln global market. Robo-taxis could be big money-spinners. But aligning tech, costs, regulation and user readiness will take years.
Supply chain “tiger traps” demand better signposts 27 Feb 2020 The centuries-old business of lending to companies’ suppliers has become a 2.8 trln euro playground for financial and technological innovation. Tools that help firms to better use capital can flatter debt levels and exacerbate a liquidity crunch. Investors need more transparency.
Alstom’s M&A detour has lower chance of derailment 17 Feb 2020 The French train maker is paying $6.7 bln for Bombardier’s locomotive unit, after its preferred deal with Siemens was blocked. Bulking up can counter the threat of China’s CRRC. Success hinges on punchy synergies and a green light from the sticky antitrust signal box in Brussels.
HS2 green light makes UK less of a runaway train 11 Feb 2020 Boris Johnson has approved the controversial 107 bln pound rail link. As with a recent call on Huawei, the prime minister has chosen the least-bad strategic path. That should reassure foreign investors jittery at Brexit and recent state support plans for budget airline Flybe.
Ryanair’s budget can stretch to truer green boasts 5 Feb 2020 The low-cost carrier has been ticked off for promoting itself as a low-carbon emitter. True, its planes are getting more efficient, but it’s still a huge polluter. Ryanair’s profitability means boss Michael O’Leary can afford to match rival easyJet in paying to offset its CO2.
Atlantia charts tentative path to road truce 24 Jan 2020 The $19 bln infrastructure group’s new boss wants outsiders to invest into its units. These include embattled motorway operator ASPI, which risks losing a rich road concession after a bridge collapse. Opening ASPI’s capital to state investors offers a way out of the crisis.
GM’s investors school Tesla’s on self-driving hype 22 Jan 2020 Shares in Mary Barra’s $50 bln carmaker barely budged after it unveiled its autonomous vehicle, yet the potential of similar technology helped Elon Musk’s outfit to top $100 bln in market value. Considering true self-driving remains a long way off, GM’s owners are more realistic.