Business

Tesla’s Stock is Down due to the Ongoing Decline in Profits.

Published

4 months ago

2024-07-24

Salman Ahmad

Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images)

(VOR News) – On Wednesday, shares of Tesla kept falling even though the firm revealed second-quarter earnings that were below Wall Street’s expectations and that it lost forty-five percent of its profits.

The carmaker, which has its headquarters in Austin, Texas, posted $1.5 billion net income for the months of April through June. This is a decrease from the $2.7 billion it reported during the same period last year.

In spite of this, revenue exceeded Wall Street’s projected amount of $24.5 billion by reaching $25.5 billion, a 2% rise over the prior year. This remarkable achievement was fuelled by Tesla’s expansion of its activities into industries beyond the electric vehicle market, most notably the energy sector.

In comparison to the same period last year, the company supplied 443,956 units during the quarter, which led to a 7% decline in sales for the automotive sector.

This represents a about five percent decrease from 2023. The fact that those sales came at the expense of margins is a major plus for the stock, even if the performance was better than experts had anticipated.

Despite Tesla experts’ higher expectations, this is true.

The quantity of electric car sales is increasing, but the growth rate of these sales has decreased. This, along with the heightened competition from Tesla’s competitors, forced the company to use a variety of sales incentives, like cutting financing rates and pricing, to boost sales.

Their goal in doing this was to increase sales. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, made these claims on a Tuesday conference call with analysts. A substantial number of competitive electric vehicles have entered the market in recent years, and the bulk of these vehicles have not been successful.

But they have significantly lowered the cost of their electric cars, which has made things more difficult for Tesla, Musk went on. Musk also mentioned that, in his opinion, this is a “fairly short-term” concern for the business as a whole.

The share price of Tesla fell by over eight percent on Wednesday during pre-market trading. This year, shares have dropped by about 1%, but they have since recovered because to shareholder backing for Musk’s $56 billion compensation plan. The stockholders advocated for the revival at the same time.

In a note released on Wednesday morning, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities and a supporter of Tesla, wrote that despite the disappointing numbers, investors should remain optimistic.

Although the results did not meet expectations, Ives continues to make this statement. As Ives pointed out in his article, “Musk and Co. are about to enter the next phase of Tesla’s growth story as autonomous vehicles, robotics, and artificial intelligence become more prevalent.”.

“[T]he Tesla growth story is entering a new phase.”

An announcement released on Tuesday stated that the launch of Tesla’s robotaxi has been rescheduled for October 10. Robotaxis, in addition to the company’s fleet of autonomous Tesla vehicles, is a big factor in the excitement the company is feeling.

It is intended that these cars will eventually serve as the foundation for a ride-hailing service that is built. Elon Musk said that the first robotaxi ride that Tesla will provide will “for sure” happen within the next year in response to an investor’s query.

Musk reiterated on the call his belief that humanoid robots, like Tesla’s Optimus, may be beneficial. According to his comments, Tesla plans to use Optimus internally in the upcoming year.

In contrast to the earlier estimate of one thousand, he increased his prediction for the number of robots used by the organisation from one thousand by the end of the previous month to “several thousand” by the end of 2025.

Interestingly, Musk also stated that Tesla had finished “most of the engineering” on the upcoming Roadster sports car.

Musk claims that this automobile will cost $200,000 and be able to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in less than a second.

He has also mentioned that it will be capable of achieving these speeds. Additionally, he has said that it will be able to do these functions. According to the original forecasts, the electric car was expected to be on sale by 2021.

SOURCE: QZN

Business

Intuit Debuts Online Tax Platform Tools

Published

8 hours ago

2024-12-05

Geoff Brown

Intuit has rolled out new tax platform offerings for personal and small business filers.

Intuit has launched additional tax platform options for small company and individual taxpayers, as part of its attempts to assist taxpayers outside of tax season, according to a news release.

Intuit, executive vice president and general manager of the company’s consumer group, Mark Notarainni, said “we’re laser focused on eliminating the work and worry of tax filing, delivering the best ‘done-for-you’ tax prep experience on the market that puts maximum refunds guaranteed into customers’ pockets faster.”

“Receiving a tax refund is a pivotal moment in the financial lives of millions of Americans each year.”

“We go even farther with our connected consumer platform, giving customers of TurboTax and Credit Karma year-round insights and tailored recommendations to help them manage their finances outside of tax season.”

One of the new features is that filers can use Intuit’s 12,000-member artificial intelligence (AI)-powered network of professionals, which includes tax attorneys, CPAs, and EAs, to get their taxes prepared in as little as two hours.

Intuit Assist

In the meanwhile, most tax forms can be automatically filled out by the company’s AI platform, reducing the need for human data entry.

“Customers receive comprehensive and individualised explanations throughout the filing process, ensuring they understand the ‘why’ behind the numbers and boosting their confidence that their taxes are done correctly, building on the previously announced Intuit Assist,” the business stated. “As customers finish their returns, automated workflows provide real-time accuracy checks, anticipating the filer’s needs.”

The new products are the most recent in a line of AI-powered services that Intuit has launched this year as part of its ongoing adoption of AI.

As we show off the strength of Intuit’s AI-driven expert platform approach, we’ve enjoyed a great start to the year. During an earnings call last month, Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi stated, “We continue to fuel the success of consumers and businesses by delivering ‘done-for-you’ experiences, enabled by AI with access to AI-powered human experts.”

“We remain confident in our approach due to our innovation and the evidence we are seeing.”

A day prior, the company had integrated a generative AI-powered assistant into QuickBooks to aid small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by producing estimates, bills, invoices, and reminders for payments, as well as offering tailored suggestions.

96% of SMBs who have experimented with AI believe it to be a useful tool, according to research by PYMNTS Intelligence.

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Business

Why Has Bitcoin’s Ascent to $100,000 in 2024 Been So Remarkable?

Published

10 hours ago

2024-12-05

Salman Ahmad

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

(VOR News) – Bitcoin has finally surpassed the $100,000 threshold, following a year in which the principal cryptocurrency was accepted by prominent Wall Street organisations and became a heated topic in the presidential race in the United States.

This accomplishment is the result of the cryptocurrency’s acceptance by significant Wall Street institutions.

Over the course of several years, individuals who are enthusiastic about bitcoin have expressed optimism regarding the cryptocurrency by predicting that its value will rise to $100,000.

Conversely, a significant number of individuals on Wall Street elected to disregard them. The digital currency’s value surpassed the six-figure threshold on Wednesday evening, and it is presently experiencing a gain of over 140% in 2024.

Wall Street’s institutions love it.

The most recent chapter in the history of cryptocurrency is a suitable moment to contextualise it, given that the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on bitcoin were introduced on January 11, 2024.

The funds have received inflows aggregating tens of billions of dollars since their inception. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been the source of the majority of these inflows, with assets presently valued at $50 billion.

The establishment of these funds and the rapid expansion of their activities are the most evident indication that bitcoin is accepted by the conventional financial system, despite the presence of a few notable outliers among investment companies.

This remains the case, despite the fact that there are still a few notable exceptions among investment enterprises. Bitcoin has been considered a speculative asset by individual speculators for a number of years. Nevertheless, Bitcoin has now achieved a new level of profitability as a consequence of institutional purchases.

Institutions have acquired 683,000 cryptocurrencies since the commencement of 2018. These acquisitions have been primarily accomplished by employing US spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and substantial purchases made by the software development company MicroStrategy, which functions as a Bitcoin proxy.

A substantial 245,000 of these inflows occurred in the weeks following the United States’ election. According to Geoff Kendrick, the global director of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, this is one of the factors that has enabled Bitcoin to surpass the USD 100,000 threshold. Kendrick is employed by Standard Chartered Bank.

Kendrick composed this statement, which was incorporated into a memo that was sent to consumers on Thursday.

Reports suggest that Trump has undergone a transformation.

Kendrick’s memo seeks to reassure customers that the bank is taking steps to ensure their safety and stability. Kendrick also encourages customers to contact the bank if they have any questions or concerns.

Furthermore, an increasing number of political organisations in the United States are beginning to recognise the potential that Bitcoin has. It would seem that President-elect Donald Trump has altered his perspective on bitcoin and the business that is associated with it, as the cryptocurrency lobby spent a significant amount of money during the 2024 election cycle.

During his campaign for office, Trump attended the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. The appointment of Paul Atkins as chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission is widely considered to be a substantial departure from Gary Gensler’s current role.

Bitcoin is generally viewed favorably by Atkins.

The current administration has exhibited substantial aversion to alternative cryptocurrencies. We, along with the rest of the industry, have been influenced by it to a certain extent.

As Vlad Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood, stated during an appearance on “Squawk Box” on Thursday, it is imperative that the industry has individuals who understand, appreciate, and adopt it. This assertion was issued by Tenev. Robinhood’s broking platform provides access to cryptocurrency trading.

Since November 4, the day preceding the presidential election, the price of Bitcoin has surged by 49%. This is a substantial increase. This increase occurred on November 4th.

Additionally, it is conceivable that Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, may have provided Bitcoin with a slight lift in order to help it surpass the $100,000 threshold. This is a potential action that could have been taken to assist Bitcoin in achieving the milestone.

The currency that competes with bitcoin, according to Powell’s statements as of Wednesday, is gold, not the currency of the United States.

Although it is conceivable that the association between bitcoin and one of the oldest investment vehicles in the world could be interpreted as a sign of legitimacy, it is crucial to recognise that this is not a definitive endorsement of cryptocurrencies

SOURCE: CNBC

Business

Agribusiness Giant Cargill to Layoff 5% of its Workforce

Published

2 days ago

2024-12-04

Geoff Brown

Cargill, which employs 160,000 workers globally, declined to comment

Following a rare income decline, agribusiness giant Cargill, which employs 160,000 people worldwide, has announced the layoff of approximately 8,000 employees.

An internal message to employees obtained by Reuters stated that most layoffs would occur this year.

“They will focus on streamlining our organisational structure by removing layers, expanding the scope and responsibilities of our managers, and reducing duplication of work,” Brian Sikes, our CEO, told employees in a memo.

Bloomberg reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the changes would not affect Cargill’s management team but would include several “next-level senior leaders.”

The Minneapolis-based enterprise is the largest privately held business in the United States.

In August, Cargill reported revenue of $160 billion, a decrease from $177 billion in 2023 and $165 billion in 2022. Profits also plummeted to $2.48 billion in the fiscal year that ended in May from a record $6.7 billion the previous year.

As a result, the company announced that it would reduce the number of business units from five to three, integrating the Food and Bio divisions with the Protein and Salt teams to become Food. Cargill has not explained what the restructuring means for its Wichita business and personnel.

The 160-year-old corporation and beef, poultry, salt, and eggs processors are major commodity dealers.

Cargill Protein North America is based in Wichita, where the division has existed for over 40 years. As of 2021, Cargill claimed to have roughly 1,000 employees in Wichita.

Many have linked the revenue decline to lower pricing for key crops such as corn and soybeans, which had risen dramatically during the pandemic. The United States Department of Agriculture recorded the smallest cow herd in nearly seven decades.

According to the trade newspaper Agriculture Dive, the company laid off almost 200 employees in June as part of its sale of a California meat-processing plant.

Cargill mentioned the consolidation in a statement about the layoffs.

“Earlier this year, we set a long-term strategy that continues that legacy, while carrying forward the values and core strengths that have defined our success from the beginning,” the statement read.

“As we look to the future, we have laid out a clear plan to evolve and strengthen our portfolio to take advantage of compelling trends, maximize our competitiveness, and continue to deliver for our customers.

As the world around us changes, we are committed to transforming even faster to deliver for our customers and fulfill our purpose of nourishing the world.