TechCrunch : Tesla temporarily closes Shanghai factory over coronavirus concerns

Tesla has shut down its Shanghai factory as part of a broader order by the Chinese government to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the region, a closure that will delay Model 3 production and ultimately put slight downward pressure on profits in the first quarter, the automaker’s finance chief Zach Kirkhorn said during an earnings call Wednesday.

Prior to the call, Tesla reported Wednesday $105 million in net income, or 56 cents a diluted share, compared with $140 million, or 78 cents a share, in the same year-ago period. Tesla earned $386 million, or $2.14 a share, in the fourth quarter when adjusted for one-time items. Tesla generated revenue of $7.38 billion in fourth quarter, just 1% higher than the $7.2 billion generated in the same period in 2018.

Model 3 production will be delayed by a week and a half, Kirkhorn said. Novel coronavirus, a new form of the family of viruses known as coronavirus first cropped up in Wuhan in late December 2019. Since then, thousands of people have contracted the virus, causing the government to take measures such as shutting down transit and factories throughout the country, including Foxconn. Automakers Ford and Toyota have said they will idle some of their Chinese assembly plants for an extra week, the NYT reported.

Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that its Chinese suppliers are scheduled to remain closed until Feb. 10. Meanwhile, Starbucks said Wednesday it would temporarily shuttered more than 2,000 of its locations in China.

“We are in the early stages of understanding if, and to what extent, we may be temporarily impacted by the coronavirus,” Kirkhorn said. “At this point we’re expecting a one, to one and a half week-delay in the ramp of the Shanghai build Model 3 due to a government required factory shutdown. This may slightly impact profitability for the quarter, but is limited as the profit contribution from Model 3 Shanghai remains in the early stages.”

Tesla is also closely monitoring if the coronavirus will cause interruptions in the supply chain for cars built in Fremont. “So far we’re not aware of anything material, but it’s important to caveat, this is an unfolding story,” Kirkhorn added.

The first deliveries of Tesla Model 3 sedans produced at the Shanghai plant began in early January, one year after the U.S. automaker began construction on its first factory outside the United States.

The deliveries to customers was a milestone for Tesla and a critical step for the company in its aim to carve out market share in the world’s biggest auto market, as well as lessen the financial pain caused by tariffs.

REuters - Three Japanese evacuees from Wuhan test positive for virus, two had no

Three Japanese evacuees from Wuhan test positive for virus, two had no symptoms

TOKYO (Reuters) - Two of three Japanese people evacuated from China and found to be infected with a new coronavirus had not shown symptoms, the health ministry said on Thursday, adding to worry about the fast-spreading virus and its economic fallout.

The three cases were among 206 Japanese people who were evacuated to Tokyo on Wednesday from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic that has killed 170 people in China and infected nearly 8,000.

While the vast majority of cases have been in China, more than 100 cases have also appeared in about 15 other countries, with Japan’s three new cases taking its tally to 11.

The two people who were confirmed as infected but had not shown symptoms were the first such cases in Japan, though suspicion has been rising that people who have the virus but no symptoms can infect others.

That would make the virus much more difficult to control.

Japan on Tuesday classified the virus a “designated infectious disease”, which would allow compulsory hospitalization and the use of public funds for treatment.

But the designation - which takes effect on Feb. 7 after ordinances are issued - does not apply to people without symptoms.

Asked about concern over transmission of the virus from people who have not shown symptoms, a health ministry official said it was not clear whether that had happened.

Shigeru Omi, head of the Japan Community Health Care Organization, told a briefing that there were reports of such transmissions in China.

Chinese National Health Commission Minister Ma Xiaowei said this week the virus was infectious during incubation, which can range from one to 14 days.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, inaugurating a task force to deal with the virus, said the government would take all steps to prevent its spread, including tracking and checking people who had been in Wuhan.

Among Japan’s 11 cases is a tour bus driver who was infected after coming into contact with Chinese visitors.

REFUSING TESTING
Of the 206 people evacuated on Wednesday, 12 were hospitalized because they had symptoms such as fever and coughing. Two refused to be taken to the hospital for checks but were escorted home.

The remaining 201 all tested negative, the ministry official said.

Abe told parliament it was regrettable that the two had declined to be tested but said there were limits to what the government could do legally.

“There are civil rights aspects and there are limits to what we can do,” he said.

But that stance drew fire from the public.

“Refusing a test is just ‘yes, OK?’ That’s just stupid,” said Twitter user “Ritsu”.

Some people also called for a ban on visitors from China.

“It’s not right to put priority on making money from tourists,” said another Twitter user identified as “GooDondon”.

Abe said the government was watching out for any economic impact of the virus on tourism and other areas and would do everything to protect people’s lives and health.

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya speaking to investors, said the impact of the virus would depended on its spread but China’s global presence was greater than when Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which also originated in China, killed nearly 800 people globally in 2002 and 2003.

ANA Holdings , Japan’s biggest carrier, said its bookings for flights from China in February fell by half, while those for flights to China plunged 60%.

“The concern is of the impact that the situation could have on China’s economy and the knock on that will have on things like air cargo,” ANA Executive Vice President Ichiro Fukuzawa told a news conference after the release of quarterly earnings.

Moody’s rating service said the economic risk to China’s neighbors was likely to be greater than from SARS.

“The timing is particularly bad for Japan as it seeks to rebound from the dip in consumption, and presumably real GDP growth, in the last quarter of 2019 following a sales tax hike,” Moody’s said.

A second charter flight carrying 210 Japanese nationals arrived in Tokyo on Thursday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said 13 of them felt unwell.

His deputy, Akihiro Nishimura, told reporters later that the government was urging all evacuees to be tested.

WSJ : Harvard Chemistry Chairman Under Investigation Is a Giant of His Field

Harvard Chemistry Chairman Under Investigation Is a Giant of His Field
Charles Lieber is charged with lying to U.S. authorities about taking millions of dollars from the Chinese government

The Harvard University professor arrested and charged with lying to U.S. authorities about taking millions of dollars from the Chinese government is considered one of the fathers of a specialized field in nanotechnology.

Charles M. Lieber has led a research lab at Harvard for nearly 30 years and generated in excess of $15 million in grants from government agencies since 2008. He was rated the top chemist of the aughts by one analytics organization that rated academic productivity. Former research assistants in his lab said Wednesday they were shocked by his arrest and even surprised by his alleged association with the Chinese program that allegedly paid him $1.5 million that he didn’t report.

“For a person with his status and reputation the work for him (in China) was not important, and it was not necessary for him to do that for the money,” said Xuan Gao, a Case Western Reserve University professor who worked in Mr. Lieber’s lab from 2005 to 2007. “He is the inventor of a very large research field called nanowires, and because of him there are many, many researchers around the world working on nanoscale materials for various applications.”

Mr. Lieber, 60 years old, is by several accounts driven, demanding and a very caring mentor. He cemented his reputation as a world class scientist about the time he came to Harvard from Columbia University in 1991. The wires he invented are only a few hundred atoms in diameter. Because they are capable of transmitting electricity they have the potential to transform electronics.

Mr. Lieber’s attorney didn’t return a call for comment. Harvard University called the charges “extremely serious” and said he had been placed on indefinite administrative leave.

“That’s why none of this makes sense,” said Brian Timko, who worked in Mr. Lieber’s lab from 2002 to 2009 and is now an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University. “Espionage? Fraud? Totally out of character. His whole world was creating research and publishing it.”

Mr. Timko recalled Mr. Lieber as being in his lab office six days a week, often from 8 a.m. to midnight, driving a nondescript car, dressing down and reading scientific literature for pleasure.

His hobbies included growing pumpkins in his backyard, one of which weighed 1,870 pounds, the largest in the state in 2014.

“We have demonstrated the controlled synthesis of nanostructures at levels of complexity significantly beyond any work yet reported,” Mr. Lieber told the Harvard Gazette, the official news outlet for the university, back in 2005. “What we have done is the most challenging synthetic problem in these structures, and one with huge potential payoffs from both the standpoint of fundamental scientific impact and producing novel devices and applications.”

Mr. Lieber was remanded to federal custody on Tuesday pending a detention hearing set for Thursday. He is charged with a single felony count for making false statements to U.S. government agencies. As a first-time offender, he likely faces less than six months in prison but could be prohibited from receiving federal grant money.

Chemists and physicists from around the world flocked to Mr. Lieber’s lab, and he has advised at least two companies. He held his protégés to exceptionally high standards and, despite a shy demeanor, could be blunt when he didn’t believe they were up to snuff, said Yajie Dong, who worked in the lab from 2003 until 2010.

“You could email him at 2 in the morning or 4 in the morning, and he would answer. He was always available, and he expected his research assistants to be as well,” said Mr. Dong, now an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Center.

Mr. Dong recalled being among 30 researchers at Mr. Lieber’s lab—typically Ph.D. students whose salaries, million-dollar equipment and lab space are paid from the grants generated by Mr. Lieber.

According to his website, sponsors of Mr. Lieber’s research included the Air Force, Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

In 2017 Mr. Lieber was named a university professor, the highest rank for faculty at Harvard. The National Institutes of Health also gave him an award in recognition of his high-risk, high-reward research program.

His work took him around the world, which is typical for a scientist of his stature, Mr. Dong said.

According to a federal complaint, Mr. Lieber misled the Defense Department and NIH about his participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program. The complaint alleged that Wuhan University of Technology gave him more than $1.5 million to set up a research lab in China.

Mr. Lieber has also served as honorary professor or academic adviser at other Chinese universities, including the prestigious Tsinghua, Peking and Fudan universities, according to his profile on a Chinese Academy of Sciences webpage.

Since 1987, Mr. Lieber has trained more than 60 Chinese scholars, according to his profile on the state-run research institute’s website. In 2009 he won a Chinese Government Friendship Award; the year prior he won the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Einstein Award, according to the institute.

Electrek :First Drive: Taycan is the best Porsche ever and yet j

First Drive: Taycan is the best Porsche ever and yet just the beginning
Porsche (finally!) invited us out on a drive of their flagship EV, the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S this week (find local dealer test drive). The ride was from the Daytona motor speedway to the Porsche Experience Center in South Atlanta, a distance of 450 or so Interstate miles. The car I was driving was still a pre-production model destined to be sent back to Germany and scrapped (the horror!). Almost all of the hardware was final version however and the model I was driving was a Taycan Turbo with Turbo S wheels. Let’s take a closer look at this bad boy…

So the Taycan, in all of its trims, is the kind of car that when you stop, people walk up to the car and swooooon. Some fans even follow you to take pictures while you are driving down the freeway. I imagine that as Porsche delivers more of these beauties, the excitement will be tempered somewhat. There are currently only around 200 delivered in the US out of a sold-out 30,000 expected worldwide over the next year or so. The Taycan is a sight to behold.
As I mentioned, my car was a bit of a frankenstein and the Turbo S car I had hoped to drive was riding on some tires slightly damaged during testing at the motor speedway. But the Turbo sans S was still more than enough car for me and I got to see what it was like driving with 192-mile range wheels.
But first, can we step back and have a look at this beauty? This is a gorgeous car. Porsche didn’t skimp on the design. at. all.
It is both muscular with those monster front brake calipers and sleek. And distinctively Porsche.
Interior
This is also a no joke 4 seater fit for 4 adults in comfort on a daily basis or on a long drive.


The interior is clean and most of the important driving controls are tactile on the wheel. Notice the “drive mode” dial. That got a lot of use in my testing and after a few short hours with it, I didn’t even need to look down to use it properly.
The infotainment was definitely pre-prod which was a shame because I really wanted to see how Apple’s CarPlay integration worked. My PR rep had synched his account up and he was able to stream music from his Apple Music account without his phone. It is almost like the first step toward an Apple Car in concept – but at the ROKR phase currently. I’m really looking forward to trying this on a production model.
Porsche doesn’t seem to be following the lead of its German brethren in also adopting Android Auto. No timeline was given for Android Auto adoption but Porsche’s US CEO noted that Android would eventually be supported in its infotainment stack. 91% of Porsche customers in the US use iOS so let’s just say it isn’t a huge hurry for Porsche.
I will say that if the center stack is super important to you, Porsche isn’t going to be leading the pack here. All of Porsche’s energy is going into the driving experience and while some of that is based in infotainment, clearly Porsche is willing to be a generation or two behind the leaders in this field.
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way…
Range anxiety? 0.
Many have asked about its sub-200 mile range on the Turbo S, and Porsche said a few things and I observed a few things about this:
  1. The under 200 (192-mile) range of the Taycan Turbo S vs 201 mile Turbo is almost entirely due to the monster tire size and higher rolling resistance and not due to any drive train or aero differences. I got to experience these 192 mile S wheels on the otherwise 201-mile range Turbo.
  2. Porsche thinks it could optimize the car to hit 200 miles by re-doing a 5 part test rather than the EPA’s 2-part City/Highway test
  3. Management is evaluating whether raising the psychological number is worth it. I don’t feel like anyone would care. It is the same car. Others have said that 192 miles is highly conservative and that’s my take as well.
  4. I did the opposite of hypermiling it through what is called the “Florida Autobahn” (Interstate 95 between Daytona and Jacksonville) where left lane normal speed is often 90 mph. I won’t admit to breaking any speeding laws but let’s just say we arrived at each leg of our journey about 30 minutes ahead of the 70-75mph car somehow. Maybe the other guy was taking bathroom breaks or something.
  5. Even driving like that, I mostly matched Porsche’s claimed mileage. Sport Plus mode would sap the mileage at a higher rate but it would also go from 80-130mph almost instantly, or so I’ve been told.
Daytona was a gray 60 degrees Fahrenheit and we hit a few showers on our 450 mile way up the interstate to S. Atlanta which was in the high 40s by the time we got there. As with most EVs, the cold probably didn’t help. But, again, I got what I expected and that’s while driving like a maniac.
350kW charging? Almost!
One component of range anxiety is battery size and range. Another is available fast-charging stations. Electrify America had us more than covered for this trip.
We got in the car with a 95% charge and a 150-mile destination. As I cycled through the different modes, the range estimate said I would arrive anywhere between 20% and 35%. Even driving hard, I never went outside of this range. Because my bladder got beat by the Taycan’s range we did do an unexpected pit stop at a grungy gas station. LOL Gas!
Charging at the Electrify America station which was at a Shell gas station was super simple. Immediately we went up to 250kW of power, were still at 100kW at 80% and even at 90% state of charge we were somehow still charging at close to 84kW. Porsche does keep 10kWh of the battery off-limits so that certainly helps, just like Audi. All told, we added 64kWh in 30 minutes. That cost us $30 at EA. Not bad for this high tech infrastructure though most EV owners charge at home and 64kWH costs between $3 and $6 depending on your utility rates.
The second charging station was the same story. We plugged in after the battery had been conditioned and had no problem getting 250kW and over. Under perfect conditions, Porsche said it can currently get as high as 270kW. Note that sunshine + EA station screens don’t make for great camera shots.


Our second EA stop was at a Walmart which also offered 350kW charging options was the same – 250kW to start and then a sometimes erratic taper to around 100kW.

This time we barely had enough time to go to the bathroom because we wanted to leave ourselves hitting the low charge warnings as we were heading toward the Porsche experience center in S. Atlanta. And that we did!
Once we got to Atlanta, we plugged into Porsche’s own “Turbochargers” which offered similar speeds as EA but a much better design and interface.
Best Porsche ever?
Porsche USA CEO Klaus Zellmer noted that Porsche’s dealers(!!) came away from their first drive wondering why Porsche was still making internal combustion engine cars. It is that good.


I’ll make my case here but this is a very subjective area so I’ll welcome any and all comments.
Criteria 1: Day to day driving. Where do I arrive at my title of “best Porsche ever”? Well, I admittedly don’t have a lot of experience behind the wheels of exotic Porsches and I’m sure the purists are already defecating all over the comment section. In fact, the only Porsche I’ve ever driven at length was my uncle’s 944 which was more of a hot hatch experiment ‘for the masses’ that Porsche tells me they won’t do again. So for a good intro to this discussion let’s take a look at Porsche’s new Superbowl ad:

All of these exotic Porsches are a pain in the ass to drive around town. Sure they are amazing on the back roads without traffic. In the city? Loud, high revs, weird gear ratios, etc. Overkill!
Not only are most of these exotics small and loud with exotic stick-shift gearboxes but the interior isn’t something you’d want to live in day to day. In fact, which of the above cars would you want to take the kids to school in? Answer: Only the Taycan.
Sure Porsche’s relatively recent foray into SUVs has given soccer moms and house husbands a way to schlep kids around but we’re not still talking about sports cars with sub-3-second acceleration.
The most eye-opening part of my drive wasn’t the insane acceleration or speed of the car but how effortlessly it managed surface streets in busy Atlanta like a normal car.
Criteria 2: Acceleration. The only Porsche that really beats the Taycan Turbo S is the exotic 2013-2015 918 Spyder which had a 0-60 time of around 2.2 seconds (and cost $845,000 base). That was actually helped by its PHEV electric motor (so you are still plugging it in). The Taycan is generously listed at 2.6 seconds – I’d put it close to 2.4 if conditions are right which puts it at almost a half-second faster than its current next fastest car, the 911 Turbo S.
In addition to those extra tenths of a second, you are getting tons of space and practicality while paying about the same price.
Criteria 3: Top speed, weight, handling. OK, Taycan loses here. With only the 2 speed gearbox, the Taycan tops out at 160mph (which I did not achieve on the Florida Interstate for the record). I’m pretty confident that with a theoretical third gear ratio, the rear motor could get this car pretty close to 200mph.
As for weight, Taycan is way heavier than the typical Porsche sports car because of its huge battery pack. But the racing company did wonders on the handling both in city/highway driving and on the glorious back roads. That low weight does make the Taycan the Porsche with the lowest center of gravity and boy does it corner like it is on rails.
Criteria 4: Comfort. Almost no noise even at absurd acceleration is just the tip of the iceberg here. Not only is that nice for riders but people outside aren’t subjected to noise (or air) pollution. You also don’t have the tiring vibration of the jarring gears. Note: The Taycan does have a 2 gear rear differential but I actually had to stop and try to feel it on an onramp. Day to day driving it is almost unnoticeable.
Seats are comfortable front and back. Headroom isn’t amazing in the rear but the glass roof does a lot to alleviate any claustrophobia. At almost 6 feet, I had bout 2-3 inches of clearance in the rear. Kids will be fine.
Frunk space for days? OK the frunk isn’t huge but it is deep and is about what you’d be able to fit about 4 grocery bags. Better yet all of the tire repair stuff goes here so you have much more space in the back.


Also, you don’t have to feel like a donchebag driving around a 2-seater that is burning a gallon of gas every 20 miles or so if you are lucky. Some folks actually care about that.
Criteria X:Car camping in a Porsche? Yes, the Tacan can fairly easily be camped in with some padding for those of us under I’d say 6’5. I don’t see any other exotic Porsches having that distinction. In fact, a pass-thru module will let you get the skis and snowboards to the mountains or *gasp* take some lumber home from Home Depot.
Downsides?
Sure there are a few. The obvious one that will eliminate (purposefully and unapologetically) 90% of the population is price. Even the 4S is barely under 6 figures after tax credit and I imagine that $7500 will be eaten up by state taxes, fees, and options at the very least. This is a six-figure car. The Turbo S is going to be around $200,000 all told.
I noted before that the center technology stack was lacking and some of that is due to the pre-production software running on this car. Other things like touch sensitivity aren’t going to get better via Porsche’s OTA updates. But overall Porsche just doesn’t place a high enough priority on these things. Interior-wise, much more time will be spent on the seats, which are spectacular, traditional instrumentation and all-around styling.
Also if you are an efficiency person (and you are still reading this), Porsche is at the bottom end of the EV spectrum when it comes to miles per kWh of energy. I imagine if someone put some BMW i3 wheels on this thing, they could probably get close to 300 miles of range. That just isn’t Porsche however. Porsche also locks up 10kWh of battery so a theoretical release of some of this would improve its range (like Audi and Jaguar have done). Porsche tells me not to hold my breath on that.
Conclusion and future of Porsche electrification
We were a little paranoid about why Porsche hadn’t invited us (the world’s largest EV site!) to experience the Taycan. Were all of the journalists “friendlies” who wouldn’t talk poorly about the downsides of the vehicle? Did they think we were just Tesla fans?
It turns out that the Taycan is actually an amazing vehicle all around. As someone who has owned and driven every model of Tesla, the Taycan stands on its own very nicely. For many, the interior is a big upgrade vs the Model S and X. The seats blow away anything I’ve ever sat in for comfort. The handling is second to none here and has to be experienced to be believed.
Just the beginning?
The electric Macan has already been announced though we have very few official details on it. The scuttlebutt is that it will be built with a huge assist from partially Porsche-owned Rimac. This will include a new bespoke high output battery pack, 4 tank-turn-capable motors, and performance that will make the 6.3s 0-60 ICE Macan a laughing stock.
It will be announced later this year and first be available next year. Porsche expects this car to sell incredibly well in China where it now moves more SUVs than any other geo. As you can probably imagine, Panamera and Cayenne will follow in short step, though I don’t know why anyone would buy these cars until they get batteries.
As Porsche CEO Klaus Zellmer says above, electrification is the future. After driving the Taycan for a few hours, I’d push back and say it is the now.

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 30th of January 2020 V2(+)

>>> Up
* Air France-KLM Raised to Outperform at Bernstein
* BASF Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 72 euros
* BillerudKorsnas Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 140 kronor
* Casino Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 47 euros
* Covestro Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 45 euros
* Eurazeo SE Raised to Buy at Berenberg
* Kesko Oyj Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 70 euros
* Lanxess Raised to Buy at Berenberg
* Leoni Raised to Hold at MainFirst; PT 8.90 euros
* ProSieben Raised to Buy at M.M. Warburg (+)
* Wacker Chemie Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 80 euros
* X-Fab Silicon Foundries Raised to Buy at Berenberg
* Yara Raised to Sector Perform at Scotiabank; PT 360 kroner

>>> Down
* AFC Energy Cut to Hold at Panmure Gordon; PT 17 pence
* BioMerieux Cut to Hold at MainFirst; PT 89 euros
* EDP Renovaveis Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 11.30 euros
* Homeserve Cut to Neutral at Citi
* IG Group Cut to Hold at Liberum
* Ingenico Group Cut to Underperform at Exane; PT 85 euros
* JCDecaux Cut to Underweight at Barclays; PT 23.50 euros (+)
* Lenzing Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank
* NNIT Cut to Sell at SEB Equities; PT 86 kroner
* Schibsted Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 280 kroner
* Sydbank Cut to Sell at SEB Equities; PT 129 kroner

>>> Initiation
* First Derivatives Rated New Add at Peel Hunt; PT 3,100 pence
* Network International Rated New Outperform at Exane
* Nexi Rated New Neutral at Exane; PT 13 euros
* Nordex Resumed Neutral at Citi; PT 13.10 euros
* Team17 Rated New Buy at Panmure Gordon; PT 550 pence

>>> Call
* Air France Upgraded, Sector’s Virus Sell-off Overdone: Bernstein
* Lanxess Up to Buy on Potential in Virus Disinfectant: Berenberg (+)

WSJ : Billionaire Behind Victoria’s Secret in Talks to Step Down, Sell Stake

Billionaire Behind Victoria’s Secret in Talks to Step Down, Sell Stake
After 57 years as CEO, Les Wexner is in discussions to step aside and exploring a full or partial sale of the lingerie brand

Leslie Wexner, the billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret, is in discussions to step aside as chief executive officer of his retail empire and is exploring strategic alternatives for the lingerie brand, according to people familiar with the matter.

The parent company, L Brands Inc., LB 12.94% is in discussions with Sycamore Partners, a private-equity firm that has scooped up several troubled apparel brands, some of the people said. The discussions are ongoing and could result in a full or partial sale of Victoria’s Secret, some of the people said.

The chain, with about $7 billion in annual sales, has long dominated the U.S. lingerie market but has struggled in recent years with falling sales. The company is looking to reach a decision on the potential deal and succession plans in coming weeks, some of the people said.

Mr. Wexner, 82 years old, who built Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited and Victoria’s Secret into national chains, is the longest-serving CEO of an S&P 500 company. He would be handing over the job after a difficult stretch for the business he has run for 57 years. He could continue in his role as chairman, one of the people said.

Shares of L Brands Inc. dropped 29% last year, missing out on a broad stock market rally. The company, which also owns the Bath & Body Works and Pink chains, has a market value below $6 billion, down from $29 billion at its peak in 2015. The shares soared 13% Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal first reported on the possible moves.

Last year, the New York activist hedge fund Barington Capital Group LP built a small stake in L Brands and urged the company to consider splitting the fast-growing Bath & Body Works chain from Victoria’s Secret. L Brands added two new directors and signed an agreement with Barington to have the fund serve as a special adviser.

Mr. Wexner has run the business since 1963 and took it public in 1969. From a small store in Columbus, Ohio, he built a retail empire by upending the department store model and developing specialty mall brands. He is the company’s biggest shareholder, with a roughly 17% stake, according to the latest proxy filing.

Last year the reclusive Ohio billionaire drew attention for his association with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who for nearly two decades managed Mr. Wexner’s wealth. Mr. Epstein was indicted last summer on federal sex-trafficking charges stemming from an alleged scheme to exploit underage girls. Mr. Epstein died in August while in a New York City prison awaiting trial.

Mr. Epstein supervised Mr. Wexner’s personal investments, bought one of the company’s jets and took a role in the retail business, sometimes trying to offer input on which women should be Victoria’s Secret models, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Mr. Wexner has said that he didn’t know about Mr. Epstein’s alleged criminal behavior and that he ended their relationship more than 10 years ago.

A few days before Mr. Epstein’s death, Mr. Wexner sent a letter to members of his Wexner Foundation accusing Mr. Epstein of misappropriating large sums of his wealth. “I know now that my trust in him was grossly misplaced, and I deeply regret having ever crossed his path,” he wrote in the letter.

The reports of ties between Mr. Epstein and L Brands prompted the company to re-examine Mr. Epstein’s involvement. L Brands’ board hired an outside law firm in July 2019 to investigate what role he played at the company. The results of the investigation haven’t been made public.

Over the years, Mr. Wexner sold off many of the clothing brands he helped create, but held on to his bra-and-beauty businesses, including Victoria’s Secret.

In the mid-1990s, the brand’s heavily padded Miracle Bra, designed to create cleavage, was vying for market share with Sara Lee Corp.’s Wonderbra. Victoria’s Secret doubled down on ads with provocative TV commercials and theatrical fashion shows. In 2004, it launched Pink, a brand aimed at teens and preteens.

In 2016, Mr. Wexner parted ways with the CEO of Victoria’s Secret and assumed direct control of the business. The company warned sales would drop as Mr. Wexner made changes. He eliminated swimwear and shifted away from catalog mailings, but kept hundreds of stores in malls.

As retail bankruptcies were piling up in 2017, he defended his strategy in an interview with the Journal. People crave social interaction and will seek it at places like malls, he said. “I’ve got 5,000 years of history on my side,” pointing to the ancient shopping bazaars in Rome and Istanbul.

Demand for Victoria’s Secret bras continued to cool as customers turned to brands emphasizing comfort and inclusivity. In 2018, Mr. Wexner reversed some of his earlier decisions—re-entering swimwear and mailing out catalogs again.

Last year the company eliminated its televised fashion show and replaced its longtime marketing chief, Edward Razek, who had been instrumental in pushing its overtly sexy marketing. Comparable sales of Victoria’s Secret fell 12% during the holiday period, extending their slide.

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • EQT (6EQ TH) +1.2%
    • EQT Executives Said to Weigh Buyout of $4.3 Billion Credit Arm
  • Nokian Renkaat (NRE TH) +1%
    • Elliott Is Said to Build Position in Finnish Tiremaker Nokian
  • H&M (HMSB TH) +0.7%
    • H&M Says Its Chairman, Billionaire Stefan Persson, to Step Down
  • Evotec SE (EVT TH) +0.5%
    • DGAP-News: EVOTEC AND BAYER ADVANCE FURTHER PROGRAMME INTO PHASE I CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
  • Lanxess (LXS TH) +0.4%
    • Lanxess Raised to Buy at Berenberg
  • Covestro (1COV TH) +0.2%
    • Covestro Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 45 euros
  • Orsted (D2G TH) -1.5%
    • Orsted 2020 Ebitda Forecast Misses Lowest Estimate (1)
  • Fiat Chrysler (2FI TH) -1.8%
  • Wirecard (WDI TH) -1.8%
  • Bechtle (BC8 TH) -1.9%
  • ASML (ASME TH) -2.1%
  • Dialog Semi (DLG TH) -2.4%
    • Watch Chip Stocks After Samsung Profit Slump, Lam Research Beat
  • Prosus (1TY TH) -3.5%
    • Naspers shares fall 2.4% in Johannesburg
  • Stora Enso Oyj (ENUR TH) -3.8%
    • Stora Enso Oyj 1Q Operating Ebit View Midpoint Misses Est.
  • Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) -4.2%
    • Deutsche Bank Debt-Trading Gain Trails U.S. Rivals: TOPLive
  • Siemens Gamesa (GTQ1 TH) -4.5%
    • Siemens Gamesa ​​​​​​​1Q Underlying Ebit Loss Misses Lowest Est.