Streetbeat News

Acquisitions Mergers

META

Social media platform X, acquired by Elon Musk in 2022, has been facing technical issues and a decrease in user engagement. The platform's downloads have fallen 38% globally from Oct. 2022 to Sept. 2023, and monthly active users are down 14.8% globally and 17.8% in the U.S. for the month of September on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms reported nearly 100 million monthly active users on its Threads platform, a number that could increase due to X's struggles.

Portfolio Pulse from Chris Katje

October 26, 2023 | 5:22 pm

WEX

WEX reported its Q3 financial results and issued Q4 and FY23 guidance. The company also announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Payzer, which has led to a decrease in its share price.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 26, 2023 | 5:22 pm

OSTK

Overstock.Com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) reported Q3 revenues of $373.31 million, missing the analyst consensus of $397.17 million, a 19% YoY decrease. The company also reported an adjusted EPS of $(0.61) loss, beating the analyst consensus of $(0.72) loss. Gross profit was $69.96 million, lower than $107.47 million a year ago. The company's average order value decreased by 21% YoY. However, the company saw a 3% YoY increase in orders delivered. OSTK acquired the Bed Bath & Beyond brand in June and has been successful in acquiring new customers and reactivating past ones.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

October 26, 2023 | 4:40 pm

WDC

Western Digital Corp (NYSE:WDC) shares dropped following reports that the company ended merger talks with Japan's Kioxia Holdings due to failure in securing approval from certain Kioxia shareholders. Both companies, facing headwinds in the memory chip space, are reportedly seeking capital infusions and exploring other options to strengthen operations. Western Digital is set to report fiscal first-quarter financial results on Oct. 30, with analysts expecting an earnings loss of $1.90 per share and revenue of $2.65 billion.

Portfolio Pulse from Adam Eckert

October 26, 2023 | 4:27 pm

BRK-A

CVX

OXY

XOM

Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum, buying 3.92 million shares between October 23 and 25. This follows Occidental Petroleum's rival, Chevron Corp's, planned acquisition of Hess Corp. Exxon Mobil Corp also recently acquired Pioneer. Berkshire now owns 25% of Occidental.

Portfolio Pulse from Anusuya Lahiri

October 26, 2023 | 4:16 pm

ACN

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has acquired Comtech Group, a consulting and program management company for infrastructure projects in Canada and the United States. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. This acquisition follows Accenture's recent purchase of Anser Advisory, and is part of Accenture's strategy to expand its capital projects capabilities in North America. Comtech Group, founded in 1994, assists clients in delivering large, long-term infrastructure projects.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 26, 2023 | 4:10 pm

STX

WDC

Western Digital and Kioxia have reportedly ended merger talks, according to a Nikkei report. Additionally, Western Digital's stock is under pressure following Seagate's Q1 revenue miss.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 26, 2023 | 3:28 pm

PYPL

UPS

United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) reported a Q3 fiscal 2023 revenue decline of 12.8% YoY to $21.06 billion, missing the consensus of $21.45 billion. Adjusted EPS was $1.57, down from $2.99 in 3Q22, beating the consensus of $1.52. The company lowered its FY23 consolidated revenue and adjusted operating margin targets due to global macroeconomic uncertainty. UPS also bought Happy Returns from PayPal (PYPL) for an undisclosed price.

Portfolio Pulse from Akanksha Bakshi

October 26, 2023 | 2:56 pm

LYB

XOM

LyondellBasell has acquired a 25% stake in Cyclyx International, a joint venture between Agilyx and ExxonMobil, aimed at accelerating plastic waste recycling. The collaboration will help create robust supply chains for circular and renewable feedstocks. Cyclyx is also expanding its business model to include a build, own, and operate option for its Circularity Centers, which will help control the quality of custom-blended feedstocks and accelerate the collection of post-use plastics.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 26, 2023 | 2:48 pm

WDC

Western Digital and Kioxia have ended their merger discussions, according to Nikkei Asia. The companies had been in talks about a potential merger to consolidate their memory chip businesses.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 26, 2023 | 2:22 pm