Top Stories Friday, July 28: iPhone US Shipments Take A Hit, Does Social Media Algorithm Impact Political

Bloomberg

DoorDash Inc (NYSE:DASH) has leveraged an artificial intelligence-based chatbot to speed up ordering and help customers find food options.
The Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) rival is working on a system called DashAI that it's testing in a limited capacity.
The technology will help customers to get personalized restaurant recommendations with simple text prompts, adding an edge over its peers.

Benzinga

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) reportedly plans to enforce a policy limiting premium users of its Disney+ Hotstar streaming service in India to logging in from just four devices.
The plan follows Netflix's (NASDAQ:NFLX) move in May to inform subscribers in over 100 countries that they would need to pay more to share the service with people outside their households. A Disney+ Hotstar premium account in India allows logins on up to 10 devices, even though the website states the limit is four.

Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone is holding fort even as smartphone shipments tumbled 24% in the June quarter. On the other hand, Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google has seen Android shipments crater by a massive 38% in this period.
Smartphone shipments declined for the third consecutive quarter in the US, falling by 24% year-on-year in the June quarter. However, iPhone shipments remained strong, falling by a considerably lower 6%, according to Counterpoint Research data.

American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) pilots union reached an agreement in principal (AIP) with the American Airlines management on proposed enhancements to the Tentative Agreement (TA).
AAL management had agreed to increase its pilot contract offer by over a billion dollars, aligning it with a tentative agreement reached by competitor United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UAL) and its pilots.

Unilever Plc (NYSE:UL) named Ian Meakins to succeed outgoing Chairman Nils Andersen, continuing to overhaul its leadership after a series of missteps in recent years frustrated shareholders.
Ian will join the Board as Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate on 1 September 2023 and succeed Nils Andersen as Chair on 1 December 2023.
Nils will step down from the board, after nine years of service, at Unilever's Annual General Meeting in May 2024.

Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) disclosed improved sales and production in June and H1 2023.
The company disclosed that global production reached a record high on increased production capacity in every region on strong demand.
Worldwide production for Toyota increased 12.1% Y/Y to 4.89 million vehicles in H1, with a growth of 14.8% Y/Y in June.

New York Times

Four new studies complicate the narrative around abolishing algorithms on Meta Platforms Inc's (NASDAQ: META) Facebook and Instagram to prevent misinformation and political division.
The research studies from multiple institutions found that removing some algorithm functions had no measurable effects on people's political beliefs.

CNBC

Vietnamese automaker VinFast proposes to begin construction on its electric vehicle factory in North Carolina.
VinFast's full-size three-row SUVs, like the VF 9, start at around $85,000 for the Eco model. A Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model X costs about $100,000.

Nikkei

Toyota Divests $1.8B Stake In KDDI To Focus On EVs

Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) disclosed the sale of its stake in KDDI Corp (OTC: KDDIF) (OTC: KDDIY) for around 250 billion yen ($1.8 billion).
The company plans to divest around 20% of its interest in the telecommunications business.
Toyota has been KDDI's major shareholder since October 2000.
The move is at par with Toyota's strategy to reduce shareholdings to boost capital efficiency and significantly invest in "Electrification", "Intelligence," and "Diversification.

Earnings

Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) reported Q2 2023 revenues of $82.91 billion, beating the consensus of $80.19 billion.
The company reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $7.9 billion, lower than $17.6 billion a year ago, owing to lower natural gas realizations and industry refining margins.
Adjusted EPS of $1.94 missed the consensus estimate of $2.01.

Oil giant Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) reported Q2 FY23 total revenues and other income of $48.896 billion, beating the consensus of $48.80 billion.
Sales and other operating revenues fell to $47.2 billion from $65.4 billion a year ago, mainly on lower commodity prices.
Adjusted net earnings were $5.78 billion, with Adjusted EPS being $3.08 (down from $5.82), missing the consensus of $3.28.

AstraZeneca Plc's (NASDAQ:AZN) unit Alexion has agreed to buy Pfizer Inc's (NYSE:PFE) preclinical gene therapy programs and enabling technologies for up to $1 billion, plus royalties on sales.
AstraZeneca has reported Q2 FY23 core EPS of $2.15, up 25% Y/Y (+38% on constant currency).
Total revenue in the quarter was $11.4 billion, up 6%, beating the analyst estimates of $10.96 billion.

Sanofi SA (NASDAQ:SNY) reported a 1% decline in Q2 business operating income of €2.73 billion. Business EPS of €1.74, up 0.6% on a reported basis and 8.1% at CER.
Revenues increased €9.96 billion, down 1.5% and up 3.3% at constant currency.
Sanofi increased its FY23 Business EPS guidance to grow mid-single-digit at CER, citing strong sales from new drug launches, excluding the effect of currency swings. The negative currency impact on 2023 earnings is expected to be 6.5%-7.5%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) reported second-quarter FY23 sales growth of 7.5% year-on-year to $4.82 billion, beating the consensus of $4.67 billion.
Organic sales increased by 8%. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.77 beat the analyst consensus of $0.75.
Colgate sees FY23 net sales growth of 5%-8% (prior view 3%-6%), including the benefit from acquisitions of pet food businesses and a low-single-digit negative impact from foreign exchange.

Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) reported fourth-quarter FY23 sales growth of 5% year-on-year to $20.55 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $19.98 billion.
Adjusted EPS of $1.37 beat the analyst consensus of $1.32.
P&G sees FY24 organic sales growth of 4%-5% and all-in sales growth of 3%-4%, with P&G FY24 EPS of $6.25-$6.43 versus the consensus of $6.38.