After Hours Summary: BB +1.3% higher on earnings; SCHL -12.1%, LGCY -8.4% lower on earnings
After Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance:BB +1.3%
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news:AKAM +19.1% (Signed a seven-year, $11.6 billion Anthropic cloud contract, with potential expansion of up to $9 billion.), PRME +12.4% (Received FDA clearance to begin U.S. clinical trials of PM647 for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.), WTTR +11.5% (Agreed to acquire Pilot Water Solutions for $700 million in cash and stock, targeting $10-$15 million in annual synergies.), PPLI +9.5% (MGM Resorts is reportedly considering a bid for People Incorporated.), FTHM +5.8% (Proposes combining its residential brokerage and title business with NXH’s interests in tZERO, Medici portfolio and GrainChain.), NXH +5.5% (Proposed restructuring would combine Fathom’s brokerage and title business with interests in tZERO, Medici and GrainChain.), STAA +4.7% (Authorized a $50 million share repurchase program expected to run over the next 12 months.), CNP +3.3% (Selected for a $50 million DOE grant supporting advanced substation upgrades in Greater Houston, subject to final negotiations.), EC +1.6% (Appoints Joaquín Gutiérrez Caballero CEO and principal legal representative, effective September 28.), FRMI +1.1% (Selected CBRE as exclusive operations and maintenance provider for its first data center under a five-year agreement.), RKLB +1.1% (Won Iridium shareholder approval for its acquisition, with closing expected by mid-2027 pending regulatory approvals.)
After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance:SCHL -12.1%, LGCY -8.4%
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news:ZS -3.6% (Promoted Ross Tackett to chief revenue officer as Mike Rich steps down for personal reasons.)
>>> Up
* Covivio Raised to Outperform at Bernstein
* Lem PT Raised to 800 Swiss francs at Bank Vontobel (+)
* Meta Raised to Buy at President Capital Management; PT $897
* Meta PT Raised to $920 from $820 at JPMorgan (++)
* MTU Aero Raised to Buy at Citi; PT 445 euros
* Nebius Group Raised to Outperform at BNP Paribas
* Sabadell Raised to Outperform at BNP Paribas; PT 4.30 euros
* Sensorion Raised to Buy at HC Wainwright; PT 32 euros
* Sensorion Raised to Buy at HC Wainwright; PT 32 euros
* SSH Communications Security Raised to Reduce at Inderes
* Telenor Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 160 kroner (++)
* WDP Raised to Outperform at Bernstein
>>> Down
>>> Down
* Alior Cut to Hold at Wood & Company; PT 142.40 zloty
* Bank Pekao Cut to Hold at Wood & Company; PT 281.10 zloty
* BMW Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 69 euros
* Dropbox Cut to Sell at Citi; PT $29
* Getinge Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 255 kronor
* Hiab Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 65 euros
* Hiab Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 65 euros
* Kingfisher Cut to Hold at Investec; PT 355 pence
* M&C Saatchi Cut to Hold at Singer Capital Markets; PT 136 pence (++)
* Peugeot Invest SA Cut to Hold at Bank Degroof Petercam (++)
* Segro Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein
* Streamwide SA Cut to Reduce at Euroland Corporate (++)
* Tinybuild Cut to Sell at Shore Capital; PT 9 pence (++)
>>> Initiation
>>> Initiation
* Akzo Nobel Reinstated Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 72 euros
* Allwyn AG Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays; PT 14 euros
* Ballys Intralot Rated New Overweight at Barclays; PT 1.40 euros
* Clas Ohlson Reinstated Buy at Handelsbanken; PT 520 kronor (+)
* Imax Rated New Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT $63
* Optima bank Rated New Buy at UBS; PT 16 euros
* Optima bank Rated New Buy at UBS; PT 16 euros
* Revolution Medicines Reinstated Buy at Goldman; PT $267 (++)
* Tryg Cut to Hold at Danske Bank Markets; PT 160 kroner (++)
* United Therapeutics Reinstated Sell at Goldman; PT $321 (+)
>>> Call
>>> Call
* Motor Oil Hellas Rises as Goldman Sachs Hikes Price Target (++)
* Getinge Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities as ‘Tough Comps Bite’ (+)
* Hiab Cut to Hold at SEB on Lower Orders from New Buy Labrie (+)
* JPMorgan Selective in European Chemicals Amid Tough Backdrop
* MTU Aero Double-Upgraded at Citi on Clear Cash Conversion Route
* RBC Sees Capital Rotation Lifting Biotech If AI Trade Fades
* RBC Sees Capital Rotation Lifting Biotech If AI Trade Fades
* Covivio, WDP Raised at Bernstein, Aedifica, Merlin in Top Picks
Amazon to Expand Robot-Making Capacity With New, $100-Million Indiana Hub
Company, which uses robots for sorting and moving packages inside warehouses, is among world’s top manufacturers of them
- Amazon.com is scaling up production and plans to spend more than $100 million on a new robotics manufacturing facility in Greenwood, Indiana.
- The Indiana plant, set to open by 2028, along with a planned hub in Austin, Texas, will double Amazon’s robot-making facilities to four.
- Amazon says its robotics investments have reduced workplace injuries by 40% and created high-paying, skilled jobs.
Amazon.com, already one of the world’s biggest robot makers, is scaling up production as it automates more of the work inside its warehouses.
The e-commerce company said it would spend more than $100 million on a new robotics-manufacturing facility in Greenwood, Ind., which is set to open by 2028.
Amazon last month announced plans to construct another robotics hub in Austin, Texas. The new facilities will double the number of Amazon’s robot-making plants to four.
Amazon’s investments in robotics, which date to its $775 million acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012, have put it at the center of a debate around how automation and artificial intelligence will affect workers, including its own workforce of more than 1.5 million.
The company says its investments in robots to sort, lift and move packages have created high-paying, skilled jobs and reduced the rate of recordable workplace injuries by more than 40%.
“We’ve deployed over a million robots over the last decade, and in that time, we’ve hired hundreds of thousands of employees that work alongside those robots,” said Holly Sullivan, vice president of worldwide economic development at Amazon.
Amazon said the Indiana facility would create 300 skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs, commanding average salaries of almost $100,000 a year, well above the state’s median household income.
Sentiment around AI and jobs is worsening. In the U.S., about seven in 10 adults say AI will result in job losses over the next 20 years, a seven percentage-point increase in two years, according to data from Pew Research Center.
Scott Devitt, a senior research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, said the technological advancements could drive demand for more skilled workers. He said that AI and robotics would “shift the labor force around,” which could lead to some job displacement in Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
Amazon recently said it was boosting pay for some workers, raising the minimum starting wage for its U.S. full-time core operations employees to $20 an hour, and would offer discounts on groceries through its online platforms and Whole Foods Market locations.
Amazon said it has invested more than $230 billion in manufacturing since 2010.
Amazon’s two operating robotics manufacturing facilities are in Massachusetts, where Kiva Systems was based. The facilities serve as research, development and manufacturing centers for several types of robots including Sparrow, a robotic arm that consolidates inventory before it gets packaged, and Proteus, a disc-shaped autonomous robot that transports carts of packages that can weigh around 900 pounds. Amazon produces robots exclusively for its own use.
Amazon’s robots, which are deployed across more than 300 of its facilities, assist with 75% of customer orders, the company said.
Joseph Quinlivan, Amazon’s vice president of fulfillment technology and robotics, said when Proteus was rolled out, workers expressed hesitancy around the robots. But in a short period of time, they adapted “because very quickly they saw how they behaved and they saw there was no incidents.”
Amazon settled on Indiana for the new facility because of the state’s manufacturing roots and its existing operations there, Sullivan said. She said Amazon would benefit from a tax abatement that the prior developer and landlord of the site had secured.
Bob Chapek Is So Not Over Getting Fired From Disney
In his first interview since being ousted as CEO, Chapek speaks about his rocky tenure and blames Bob Iger
Bob Chapek says he never had a chance.
In his first on-the-record interview since being fired as chief executive of Disney DIS -0.35%decrease; down pointing triangle in late 2022 after 33 tumultuous months, Chapek said his predecessor-turned-successor Bob Iger relentlessly campaigned to undermine him and eventually take back the crown.
“I think it’s actually amazing it took three years, versus that it happened at all,” the 67-year-old said from his home in the Florida Keys.
Chapek lays it all out in his memoir, “Behind the Castle Walls,” which Gallery Books will publish next week. It charts his early life and career and his nearly 30 years at Disney, during which he rose from a director of home-video marketing to lead home video, film distribution, consumer products and theme parks, before becoming CEO in 2020.
Iger referred questions to a Disney spokesman, who declined to comment.
Why do you think Bob Iger retired in February of 2020 and tapped you to succeed him?
What he told everybody inside the company was that he was tired of the administrative part of the job. He hated earnings calls. He hated five-year plans. There was also a lot of complaining about his compensation, that it was inadequate relative to others in the industry.
But I have had plenty of people suggest to me that there was a small group of people that knew Covid was coming before the rest of the world. And certainly, given the magnitude of what was about to happen, the idea of laying off or furloughing 110,000 people was not consistent with what some people would want their public image to be.
I don’t have any reason to know whether that’s true or not true. [Iger told the New York Times in 2020 that there were no hidden reasons for his retirement.]
Chapek writes that Iger’s demeanor during a joint CNBC interview that the two men did the day of the CEO transition was “ice cold,” “angry” and “miserable.” That April, New York Times columnist Ben Smith reported that Iger, who was still executive chairman, had reasserted control of Disney because of Covid-19. Iger told Smith that the pandemic necessitated his “actively helping Bob [Chapek] and the company contend with it.”
Given what you know now, do you think there was a scenario where you wouldn’t have been fired?
I think the outcome was inevitable. And if the cues I got from the opening press conference weren’t enough, when he did the interview with Ben Smith where he essentially reasserted himself as CEO—that was as big a sign as possible of an attempt to undermine me.
Disney Co. executives Bob Chapek and Bob Iger deliver remarks at the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary rededication ceremony.
Chapek with Bob Iger at an event marking the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in 2021. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Zuma Press
You say in the book, you found out about that column during a party with your family and friends celebrating your becoming CEO?
I was literally drinking wine, thinking about the future, and I get a message from somebody who had read that article. I couldn’t believe it.
Is there anything you regret from your time as CEO?
I made a mistake when I got the job of taking advice from key members of the board that [Iger] should stay an active member of management with the creative product. It kept him in a position where he could engage with anybody on any subject at any time. I didn’t realize how insidious that was.
There were meetings being held on things that were clearly on my side of the line, but he was giving direction.
Like what?
That was the case with “Black Widow.”
In July 2021, Scarlett Johansson sued Disney after it released her Marvel film “Black Widow” simultaneously in theaters and online, which she said breached her contract. The company responded with a statement calling her suit “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The suit was eventually settled, but Disney’s statement is remembered in Hollywood as a public-relations disaster. Chapek said Disney’s head of corporate communications wrote the statement and Iger approved it.
Didn’t you have the power to weigh in?
“Bob Iger will run creative and talent.” I was warned several times to give him lots of room on that subject and, “You’ll get your chance to run it when he’s gone.”
Did you have an opinion?
I thought the company statement was very harsh. I thought bringing up the Covid situation and the theoretical insensitivity was, uh, nontraditional.
In March 2022, three months after Iger stepped down as executive chairman, Disney employees were in an uproar over a Florida bill prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grade levels at schools. Iger posted that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as it was described by opponents, would “put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy.” Chapek initially said corporate statements against legislation were counterproductive. Four days later, he apologized, pledged to be a better ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and said Disney would pause political giving in the state.
Do you think apologizing for the initial statement was a mistake?
It was a mistake. I was pushed into it.
Who pushed you into doing that?
Powers bigger than me.
Can you be more specific?
No.
Is that because of legal concerns? Or because you don’t want to get caught up in another political controversy?
All of the above.
Did Iger’s statement have an effect on your ability to do your job?
A huge effect, because what it did is conveniently align him with the very people I was trying to win over, which was the creative community. Remember, I spent the first year and a half of my job doing Zoom calls. I couldn’t get out and establish relationships. He had them on speed dial.
If the first big cut was the New York Times, the second was the “Don’t Say Gay” tweet.
In June 2022, Disney’s board unanimously voted to extend Chapek’s contract for three years. That November, the company’s stock tumbled after its earnings report disclosed that streaming losses had hit a peak of $1.5 billion. Two weeks later, Chapek was out and Iger was back.
How do you explain what happened in five months?
More often than not, the earnings performance of the company exceeded Wall Street expectations. Then we had one quarter where all we did was push back peak losses on Disney+. It made a lot of headlines. It became the opportunity to make good on whatever [Iger] wanted. And there would not have been another opportunity because after that, I said that Disney+ would be profitable at a certain point in time and, guess what? It was.
Your critics have accused you of underplaying how bad the earnings miss was that quarter. They said you talked about parades at the parks and seemed oblivious.
Every single Disney earnings [call], we always add something fluffy for the fans. Of course that’s not as important as your financial performance. But for whatever reason, that becomes the data point for why I underestimated the magnitude of the miss, which then becomes the data point for my firing. It’s an absurdity.
How would you like your time as CEO to be remembered, besides the Bob Iger drama?
As the guy who came in at the most difficult time in the company’s history and did an admirable and stellar job of saving it from what was very possibly its demise due to two years of no revenue combined with enormous debt from the Fox acquisition at a time where there was a lot of social unrest. For three years, I positioned the company for success and that made it a lot easier for someone else to step in, once the dust had settled.
Have you gone to Disney World since you left the job? Do you think you ever would again?
No.
That’s sad, right?
Very sad. It was a part of my life even before I joined the company. But I feel so let down, so disillusioned. Never say never, but I don’t think the effort to erase my time as CEO is very consistent with me wanting to go back on “It’s a Small World.”
Research Calls I
-
Upgrades:
- Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, tgt $20
- Americold Realty Trust (COLD) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, tgt $16
- CoreWeave (CRWV) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $125
- Dollar General (DG) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC, tgt $160
- EastGroup Properties (EGP) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $231
- Macerich (MAC) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $26
- Nebius Group (NBIS) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas Exane, tgt $399
- Paychex (PAYX) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, tgt $115
- Quanta Services (PWR) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein, tgt $775
- Welltower (WELL) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $260
- Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, tgt $20
-
Downgrades:
- Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $56
- Alkami Technology (ALKT) downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $14
- Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMWYY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC
- Dropbox (DBX) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup, tgt $29
- Etsy (ETSY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Arete, tgt $81
- Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $46
- Kite Realty Group (KRG) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $27
- Rollins (ROL) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $33
- Safehold (SAFE) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $14
- Stitch Fix (SFIX) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair
- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $39
- VICI Properties (VICI) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $30
- Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $56
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Others:
- AbCellera (ABCL) resumed with a Neutral at Goldman, tgt $13
- Ares Management (ARES) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $150
- Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR) resumed with a Neutral at Goldman, tgt $74
- Avidbank Holdings (AVBH) initiated with a Buy at StoneX,t gt $40
- BayCom (BCML) initiated with a Buy at StoneX
- BlueLinx (BXC) initiated with a Market Perform at Citizens
- CNB Financial (CCNE) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $38
- The Carlyle Group (CG) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $54
- Contineum Therapeutics (CTNM) resumed with an Early-Stage Biotech rating at Goldman
- Community West Bancshares (CWBC) initiated with a Buy at StoneX, tgt $30
- Energy Services of America (ESOA) initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital, tgt $20
- Enterprise Financial Services (EFSC) initiated with a Buy at StoneX, tgt $70
- Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals (EPRX) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush, tgt $17
- Fervo Energy (FRVO) initiated with a Buy at Johnson Rice, tgt $35
- First Interstate Bancsystems (FIBK) initiated with a Hold at StoneX
- FuelCell Energy (FCEL) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays, tgt $20
- Hope Bancorp (HOPE) initiated with a Hold at StoneX
- Imax (IMAX) initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $63
- Insmed (INSM) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $188
- Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $15
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $337
- Kodiak Sciences (KOD) resumed with a Neutral at Goldman, tgt $36
- Krystal Biotech (KRYS) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $441
- Kymera Therapeutics (KYMR) resumed with an Early-Stage Biotech rating at Goldman
- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $704
- MeiraGTx Holdings (MGTX) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman, tgt $16
- MGE Energy (MGEE) initiated with a Neutral at BofA Securities, tgt $76
- MGM Resorts (MGM) resumed with a Neutral at BofA Securities, tgt $40
- MiniMed Group (MMED) initiated with a Buy at Truist Securities, tgt $29
- NeOnc Technologies (NTHI) initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital, tgt $20
- Old National Bancorp (ONB) initiated with an Overweight at Wells Fargo, tgt $30
- Preferred Bank (PFBC) initiated with a Buy at StoneX, tgt $120
- PubMatic (PUBM) initiated with a Buy at Craig-Hallum, tgt $24
- Quince Therapeutics (QNCX) initiated with a Buy at Rodman & Renshaw, tgt $70
- Revolution Medicines (RVMD) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $267
- Sagimet Biosciences (SGMT) resumed with a Sell at Goldman, tgt $7
- Southern Missouri Bancorp (SMBC) initiated with a Buy at StoneX, tgt $80
- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (TARS) resumed with a Buy at Goldman, tgt $116
- Turn Therapeutics (TTRX) initiated with a Buy at Lucid Capital Markets, tgt $24
- United Therapeutics (UTHR) initiated with a Sell at Goldman, tgt $321
- Versant Media Group (VSNT) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup,t gt $41
- Wintrust Financial (WTFC) initiated with an Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, tgt $160
- AbCellera (ABCL) resumed with a Neutral at Goldman, tgt $13
Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- SFIX -18.8%, DRI -5.0%, KGC -3.1%, SNX -2.7%, FUL -2.4%
Other news:
- ACAD -12.1% (Remlifanserin's 60 mg dose missed statistical significance on the Phase 2 RADIANT primary endpoint in Alzheimer's disease psychosis.)
- VKTX -12.0% (Priced upsized offerings of 7.86 million shares at $35 each and $225 million of 2% convertible notes.)
- MGM -9.2% (Confirms People Incorporated withdrew its acquisition proposal, with the board backing MGM's standalone plan.)
- HAFN -5.5% (Priced a 35.49 million-share placement at NOK 80, raising about $300 million to bolster its balance sheet.)
- TMS -4.7% (Closed a $225 million perpetual preferred equity financing carrying a 16% cash dividend to fund acquisitions.)
- MNOV -4.6% (Completed the Phase 2b/3 COMBAT-ALS trial's double-blind portion, with MN-166 topline data expected by year-end 2026.)
- DK -3.1% (Plans $400 million convertible senior notes offering, with proceeds partly funding capped calls and term-loan repayment.)
- SQNS -3.0% (Completes Bitcoin treasury exit, emerging with a solid financial foundation.)
- TRU -2.7% (CFO Todd Cello will step down December 31, while TransUnion reaffirmed third-quarter and full-year guidance.)
- VRT -1.8% (Agreed to acquire King Environmental Services in 4Q26; terms were undisclosed, with immaterial expected financial impact.)
- AFYA -1.8% (Agreed to merge into Yduqs; shareholders would own 69% and Nasdaq shares would delist at closing.)
- RDW -1.5% (Named one of 15 vendors on Space Systems Command's $980 million NITE-STAR contract vehicle, with no guaranteed revenue.)
- ELMT -1.4% (Will acquire a 4.99% stake in Masan High-Tech Materials for $124.75 million under a strategic agreement.)
- VOYG -1.1% (Priced a $350 million private offering of 0% convertible senior notes due 2032, with a $52.5 million option.)