Electric carmaker Tesla soared nearly 12% in pre-market trading on Thursday morning, after the company posted third quarter earnings that beat estimates.
Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.72 (55p) for the quarter, compared to expectations of $0.60, on adjusted net income of $2.5bn and free cash flow of $2.9bn.
The company's closely watched gross margin figure came in at 19.8%, much higher than the 16.8% expected.
Third-quarter revenue came in at $25.18bn, which was slightly lower than the $25.4bn anticipated as per Bloomberg consensus.
In its earnings deck, the company said: "Preparations remain underway for our offering of new vehicles — including more affordable models — which we will begin launching in the first half of 2025."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk later added in an earnings call that Tesla's volume growth could be between 20% and 30% next year.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The affordable model and refreshed version of the Model Y are critical for expanding the addressable market and driving the next wave of scale for Tesla’s auto business.
"Given there was no mention at the Robotaxi event, many had feared the affordable model was delayed or even being scrapped.
"Some of the immediate gains we’re seeing in the stock will most definitely be driven by comments that point to more affordable models coming next year."
Shares in aircraft manufacturer Boeing fell by nearly 3% in pre-market trading on Thursday, as investors digested the company's latest results and the news that striking factory workers had rejected its latest contract offer.
Boeing reported net losses had swelled to $6.2bn in the third quarter, up from $1.6bn for the same period last year.
Revenue was little changed year-on-year, edging 1% lower to $17.8bn. The company posted a core loss per share of $10.44, up from $3.26 last year.
Boeing said the financials reflected the impact of strikes by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, as well as previously announced charges on commercial and defence programmes.
On Wednesday, IAM also announced that 64% of Boeing worker members voted against accepting the latest contract proposal from the company, which included a 35% pay rise offer.
IAM district presidents Jon Holden and Brandon Bryant said in a joint statement: "After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly."
Technology company IBM released mixed third quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday, which dragged shares down 5% in after-hours trading.
IBM posted revenue of $14.97bn for the quarter, versus expectations of $15.05bn, while adjusted earnings came in at $2.30 per share, which was higher than the $2.22 forecasted.
Argus Research director of research Jim Kelleher told Yahoo Finance: “The revenue was a little light, and that's the instant reaction."
However, he said that IBM was "really getting the AI story together… Generally, I think their cloud strategy and their AI strategy is now kind of working.”
Kelleher added that the stock had been “kind of a chronic underperformer over the years.” He said: “It's been a very depressed stock, given its growth potential."
Shares in exercise bike-maker Peloton surged 11% in Wednesday's session, following reports that billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn had said that the company was significantly undervalued.
CNBC reported that Einhorn, founder of Greenlight Capital, had made the comments at the Robin Hood Investors Conference while riding a Peloton bike.
Greenlight Capital had reportedly disclosed a $6.8m stake in Peloton as of 30 June.
Einhorn's comments came a day after Peloton announced its partnership with wholesale retailer Costco (COST) for the holiday season, to sell the Peloton Bike+ in 300 of its US stores and online, starting 1 November.
Shares have languished since the heights reached during the pandemic, with the boom of people exercising at home. In its fourth quarter results in August, Peloton said it completed a refinancing of its balance sheet back in May and reported improved profitability.
Consumer goods giant Unilever rose 3.5% on Thursday morning, after it reported strong underlying sales growth, boosted by its ice cream business.
Unilever reported underlying sales growth of 4.5% in the third quarter, with turnover of €15.2bn (￡12.6bn).
The company's ice cream business saw the most growth in underlying sales in the quarter, up nearly 10%, with turnover of €2.4bn. Unilever is in the process of spinning out its ice cream business, with CEO Hein Schumacher saying this separation was "progressing as planned."
Unilever said its outlook for the 2024 full year was unchanged, expecting underlying sales growth of between 3% and 5%, as well as an underlying operating margin of at least 18%.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “A little over a year into the job and CEO Hein Schumacher has made genuine progress with the business. This is reflected in today’s slightly better-than-expected third-quarter sales.
“This performance has been built on improved product innovation but also slowing down price increases."
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Other companies in the news on Thursday 24 October:
