AMC Entertainment and Warner Bros Earnings, Broadcom CEO proposes to offer European regulators a deal with VMware, Apple and Meta Brace for the virtual reality competition: the best stories of the day

Reuters

Broadcom CEO prepares to ease European regulators’ concerns over VMware deal

• On Friday, the American chipmaker Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) CEO Hock Tan offers to present to EU antitrust authorities the pro-competitive nature of his $61 billion bid for a cloud computing company VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW).

• Tan will present his case to senior European Commission officials, including its deputy director-general for mergers Guillaume Loriot, as well as their counterparts at national competition agencies and lawyers for the EU executive.

• VMware Chairman Sumit Dhawan will appear remotely at the hearing.

Benzinga

AMC Entertainment Q1 Results: Theater Chain Exceeds Expectations as Avatar and Marvel Franchises Help Maintain Winning Streak

• AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) reported 21.5% year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter of FY23 to $954.4 million, beating consensus of $941.9 million.

• Overall attendance improved 21.9% year-on-year to 47.6 million. Attendance in US markets increased 25.5% year-on-year to 32.4 million. Attendance at international markets increased 15% year-on-year to 15.3 million.

• The average number of screens fell 1% year over year, from 10,099 to 9,998.

Apple and Meta brace for competition as India’s richest man enters VR headset battle with $16 device

• by Mark Zuckerberg Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) and Tim Cook’s Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will soon come up against expensive deals in the VR headset market. But India’s richest man is once again looking to play troublemaker on his home turf with a VR headset that costs just under $16.

• Trust Industriesowned and run by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambanilaunched its first-ever virtual reality (VR) headset called JioDive under its subsidiary Reliance Jio this week.

Why Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Is Falling Before Market Today

• Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD) reported first-quarter FY23 revenue fell 5% ex-currency year-over-year to $10.70 billion, missing the consensus of 10.78 billions of dollars. The EPS loss of ($0.44) missed consensus by $0.01.

• studios income were $3.21 billion, down 7% excluding Y/Y currency on a combined pro forma basis. Content revenue was down 8% excluding currency effects, as higher gaming revenue from the release of Hogwarts Legacy was more than offset by lower TV licensing.

• Networks income were $5.58 billion, down 7% excluding currency, excluding the impact of the 2022 Winter Olympics on a combined pro forma basis.

The story continues

Lordstown Motors to curb production of electric endurance trucks

• Lordstown Motors Corporation (NASDAQ: RIDE) said it expects production of its Endurance full-size electric van to be discontinued “in the near future”, given lack of investment and production delays.

• The company said in a filing on Thursday that production of the flagship Endurance Lordstown vehicle may soon cease.

• The company is seeking strategic partners to expand the program, but noted that its ability to secure additional funding is “extremely limited.”

American Bankers Association Calls on SEC to Investigate Short Selling and Abusive Practices

• THE American Bankers Associationor ABA, reportedly called on federal regulators on Thursday to investigate a series of large short sales of publicly traded bank stocks that it said were “disconnected from underlying financial realities.”

• The group said it had also observed “extensive social media engagement” regarding the health of various lenders that was out of step with general industry conditions, Reuters reported, citing a letter written to the Security and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.

Why Dropbox shares are up Friday morning

• Dropbox Inc. (NASDAQ: DBX) reported first-quarter 2023 revenue growth of 8.7% year-on-year and 11.6% in constant currencies year-on-year to $611.1 million, beating consensus for $601.1 million.

• Paid users stood at 17.90 million, up from 17.09 million a year ago, and average revenue per paid user rose to $138.97 from $134.63 a year earlier.

• The company maintained a long-term goal of an adjusted gross margin of 80% to 82%, an adjusted operating margin of 30% to 32%, and annual free cash flow of over $1 billion.

Cigna raises full-year profit forecast on strong growth and lower medical costs

• Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) reported FY23 first-quarter sales of $46.52 billion, up 6% year-on-year, beating consensus of $45.53 billion, reflecting strong contributions from Evernorth Health Services and Cigna Healthcare.

• Cigna saw its medical expense ratio – or claims expense as a percentage of premiums – fall to 81.3% from 81.5% due to higher premiums and lower COVID-19 costs.

• Adjusted EPS of $5.41, down from $6.06 a year ago, was above Wall Street’s estimate of $5.24.

Dogecoin wallet with 1.5 million DOGE comes to life after 9 years

• A Dogecoin (DOGE/USD) address containing 1.55 million DOGE worth approximately $123,155 on Thursday reawakened after being dormant for 9.3 years.

• The fact that this dormant wallet was reactivated after such a long period of stagnation suggests that the holders may have acquired the coins soon after the invention of Dogecoin.

• Last month, a number of inactive DOGE wallets came back to life after being dormant for long periods of time.

Air France-KLM in discussion with Apollo Global Management for financing of 500M

• Air France-KLM (OTC: AFLYY) and Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE: APO) are in talks on a $500 million financing of a dedicated operating subsidiary holding engineering and maintenance assets.

• This financing will be non-dilutive, structured through a quasi-equity financing instrument. Proceeds will be used for general business purposes.

CNBC

HSBC rejects Asian business split proposal at shareholder meeting

• HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC) reportedly rejected the proposal on the potential divestiture of its Asian business into a Hong Kong-listed company at today’s annual general meeting (AGM).

• Investors in favor of the spin-off did not get a majority of votes. First shareholder of HSBC, Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd (OTC; PNGAY), supported the spin-off.

Bloomberg

Sale of Jack Ma’s Ant Eyes stake in Hong Kong banking unit

• Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) fintech subsidiary Ant Group Co Ltd weighed selling a stake in its virtual banking unit in Hong Kong to gain the trust of regulators for its impending IPO.

• Ant Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd discussed with potential investors to strengthen operations,

• Chinese parent company Ant Group has restructured its operations to win over regulators after the country abruptly scrapped its 2020 IPO.

BMW issues ‘Do Not Drive’ warning for 90,000 cars with faulty airbags: report

• BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke ADR) (OTC: BMWYY) has reportedly issued a “do not drive” alert for all 90,000 affected sedans and SUVs with faulty airbags.

• Moving comes later Hondo Motor Co Ltd (NYSE: HMC) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) issued similar orders regarding Takata Corp. airbags.

• Airbags pose a risk of explosion if deployed after long-term exposure to high heat and humidity.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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This article AMC Entertainment & Warner Bros Earnings, Broadcom CEO Proposes to Offer European Regulators VMware, Apple & Meta Brace Deal for Virtual Reality Contest: Today’s Top Stories originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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