Top Stories Thursday, May 18: Florida Governor DeSantis Plans To Declare 2024 Bid Next Week, Walmart & Alibaba Quarterly Earnings, Deutsche Bank To Pay $75M To Settle Jeffrey Epstein Accusers' Suit - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Benzinga

DeSantis Vs. Trump Official? Florida Governor Reportedly Plans To Declare 2024 Bid Next Week

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly preparing to announce his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential elections.
Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that DeSantis plans to formally announce his Republican nomination bid next week.
He intends to submit the required documents to the Federal Election Commission, officially declaring his presidential candidacy around the same time as a gathering in Miami, where his long-standing and generous donors will be present.

Why Walmart Shares Are Surging Thursday Morning

Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) reported first-quarter FY24 sales growth of 7.6% year-on-year to $152.30 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $148.65 billion.
Net sales from Walmart U.S. increased 7.2% Y/Y, Walmart International rose 12%, and Sam’s Club jumped 4.5%.
Excluding fuel, Walmart’s U.S. Q1 comp sales grew 7.4%. eCommerce growth was 27%.

Why Alibaba Shares Are Gaining Today

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) reported fourth-quarter FY22 revenue growth of 2% year-on-year to $30.32 billion, beating the consensus of $30.24 billion.
Non-GAAP earnings per ADS of $1.56 beat the consensus of $1.35.
The board has approved a complete spinoff of the Cloud Intelligence Group via a stock dividend distribution to shareholders to become an independent publicly listed company.

Grounded Packages? FedEx Pilots Flex Their Bargaining Muscles with Strike Vote

FedEx Corporation’s (NYSE:FDX) Express unit pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), have voted overwhelmingly in support of a strike if necessary.
After two years of negotiations, FedEx pilots pledge to walk if talks fail.
With aviators in short supply and air travel demand booming, pilots are enjoying enhanced bargaining power, encouraging them to push for better contracts with airlines and parcel firms.

Amazon’s AWS Sets $12.7B Course For India’s Booming Cloud Requirements

In an ambitious move, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced its plans to pour $12.7 billion to bolster its cloud infrastructure in India by 2030. This comes as the e-commerce behemoth redoubles efforts to expand its Amazon Web Services (AWS) in a critical foreign market, despite recent cutbacks in other areas of the region.
According to a TechCrunch report, the investment marks a significant increase from the company’s pledge last year to invest $4.4 billion (₹36,178.24 crores) in Indian AWS by 2030, underlining Amazon’s intensified commitment.

What’s Going On With Micron Technology Stock Thursday

Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) shares are trading higher on Thursday following reports of the Japanese government’s incentives towards ramping up DRAM chip production in the country.
The Japanese government will likely dole out close to $1.51 billion (200 billion yen) in financial incentives to help Micron make next-generation memory chips in the country.
The company will be the first semiconductor business to introduce EUV technology to Japan for production, with its Hiroshima fab playing a critical role in developing the 1-gamma node.

Grab Stock Is Trading Lower After Q1: Here’s The Details

Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GRAB) reported first-quarter FY23 revenue growth of 130% year-on-year (139% Y/Y on a constant currency basis) to $525 million, beating the consensus of $490.1 million. EPS loss of $(0.06) is in line with the consensus.
Grab reiterates FY23 revenue of $2.20 billion - $2.30 billion, up by 54% - 60% Y/Y vs. consensus $2.24 billion, and adjusted EBITDA breakeven n Q4 2023.

Wall Street Journal

Deutsche Bank To Reportedly Pay $75M To Settle Jeffrey Epstein Accusers’ Suit: ‘Groundbreaking,’ Say Plaintiffs’ Lawyers

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit that accused the financial institution of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring.
Lawyers who sued the bank on behalf of alleged victims announced the settlement.
Last year, an anonymous woman referred to as Jane Doe filed a suit in New York, alleging that Deutsche Bank conducted business with Epstein for five years while being aware of his use of funds to support his sex-trafficking activities.

Buyout Firms Team Up In $5B-Plus Bid To Buy New Relic

Private equity companies Francisco Partners and TPG Inc (NASDAQ:TPG) are reportedly interested in acquiring New Relic Inc (NYSE:NEWR).
Francisco Partners and TPG are working together on a $5 billion-plus bid to acquire software company New Relic.
According to the report, an agreement might be reached within two weeks.

Feeding the Need for Speed: AT&T’s Grand $42.5B Plan to Expand Fiber-Optic Reach

AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) is expanding its fiber-optic cable network to deliver fast internet speeds for customers, including those without broadband presence.
AT&T has tapped BlackRoc Inc (NYSE:BLK) and eyes government funding to accelerate the build-out to fund the extravagant expansion worth $42.5 billion as its debt load outstrips its annual revenue.
AT&T and BlackRock have invested $1.5 billion in the Gigapower venture.

Reuters

Walgreens Settles Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit with San Francisco for $230M, Says It Does Not Admit Fault

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) reached a $230 million settlement with San Francisco to settle claims regarding its role in the city’s opioid epidemic.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said that Walgreens Boots could be held liable for “substantially contributing” to an opio” d epidemic and faulted Walgreens for its “15-year failure” to properly scrutinize opioid prescriptions and flag possible misuse of the drugs.
San Francisco had estimated it might cost $8.1 billion to abate the opioid crisis and that Walgreens was legally liable for the entire amount.

EU Pulls out the Big Guns: Record Privacy Fine on the Horizon for Meta

Meta Platforms will likely face a record European Union privacy fine related to data transfer of Facebook’s EU users to U.S. servers for failing to comply with a warning by a top EU court.
The EU court warns that violation will entail a higher penalty than the previous record €746 million ($821.20 million) fine for Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Europe’s highest court ruled in 2020 that an EU-U.S. data transfer agreement was invalid, citing surveillance concerns.

Toyota, Suzuki, Daihatsu Launch Mini-Commercial Electric Vans In Japan

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) is launching a prototype mini-commercial electric van in partnership with Suzuki Motor Corporation (OTC:SZKMF) and Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) and the G7 Hiroshima Summit organized the exhibition event.
The van is targeted at Japan’s delivery industry.
The small-size cars will use the BEV, or Batter Electric Vehicle system, powered by Toyota Motor’s electrification technology.

Bloomberg

Sony Shares Are Surging Premarket: Company Eyes Sony Financial Arm IPO

Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) is exploring a partial spinoff and separate listing for its financial unit in two to three years.
Sony looks to retain just under 20% of Sony Financial Group Inc and sell its shares on a Japanese exchange.
The potential spinoff would reverse a $3.7 billion take-private deal concluded in 2020 over FY23.
The spinoff will help the firm to bag more considerable investment for Sony’s image sensor and entertainment businesses, COO Hiroki Totoki said at the briefing.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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