Business Highlights: Apple, Amazon earnings top forecasts; Yeezy sneaker sales lift Adidas
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Apple’s earnings top analysts’ forecasts, but year-over-year sales drop for third straight quarter
Apple eked out slightly higher profit even though sales dipped during its latest quarter. The period included the iPhone maker becoming the first publicly held U.S. company to be valued at $3 trillion. Results released Thursday cover April through June and mark the third consecutive quarter that Apple has posted a year-over-year decline in revenue. That’s the company’s longest stretch of declining sales in nearly seven years. Revenue totaled $81.8 billion, down 1% from last year. Profit edged up by less than 1% from a year ago to $19.9 billion, or $1.26 per share. The earnings were better than analysts anticipated, while revenue matched expectations.
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Amazon reports better-than-expected revenue and profits for 2Q, sending its stock higher
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon on Thursday posted better-than-expected revenue and profits for the second quarter, sending its stock higher in after-hours trading. The e-commerce giant earned $6.7 billion, or 65 cents per share, for the three-month period ended June 30. Its revenue came out to $134.4 billion, up 11% from the same period last year. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement that it was a “strong quarter of progress” for the company. The Seattle-based company’s profitable cloud unit AWS’s growth continued to slow. Executives have blamed companies cutting back on costs for the slowdown.
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Adidas brings in $437 million from the first Yeezy sale. Part of that will go to anti-hate groups
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Adidas has brought in $437 million from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after breaking ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. The German sportswear maker is trying to offload the unsold shoes and donate part of the proceeds to groups like the Anti-Defamation League that are fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate. Ye’s antisemitic and other offensive comments led the company to end the partnership in October. Adidas says it’s already handed over 10 million euros in donations and expected to give an additional 100 million euros, with further donations possible depending on how future sales go. The first batch of shoes released in June sold out, and a second sale started Wednesday.
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Saudi Arabia extends cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day, potentially boosting prices at the pump
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says it will extend its unilateral production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of September in its effort to boost flagging energy prices. The Saudi cut of 1 million barrels per day, which began in July, comes as the other OPEC+ producers have agreed to extend earlier production cuts through next year. The kingdom announced the extension in a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The move was widely expected by analysts. Benchmark Brent crude traded Thursday at over $80 a barrel.
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Bud Light parent says US market share stabilizing after transgender promotion cost sales
Bud Light’s parent company expressed confidence Thursday that its U.S. market share has stabilized after a promotion with a transgender influencer cost it sales. Anheuser-Busch InBev reported a 10.5% drop in U.S. revenue in the second quarter as Bud Light sales plunged amid a conservative backlash over a promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. But the company said its total U.S. market share was stable from late April through June, and it saw sales increases for some brands like Michelob Ultra. ABInBev said its overall revenue rose 7.2% as global brands such as Stella Artois and Corona made up for the loss in Bud Light sales.
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Weekly applications for US jobless aid tick up from 5-month low
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but remained at a historically low level that points to a robust job market. Applications for jobless aid rose 6,000 to 227,000 for the week ending July 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell 5,500 to 228,250. Jobless benefit applications are seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week. Thursday’s report comes just a day before the July jobs report will be released, which will provide a broader and more detailed look at the labor market and economy.
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Stock market today: Wall Street slips as its big rally cools some more
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted to a lower close as Wall Street’s red-hot rally this year cooled a bit more. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Thursday, its third straight loss. The Dow fell 66 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1%. Treasury yields in the bond market continued to march higher, putting more pressure on the stock market. Yields have climbed as the economy has remained remarkably resilient despite much higher interest rates meant to drive down inflation. Reports on Thursday indicated a still-solid job market and still-growing services industries. A more impactful report on jobs will arrive Friday.
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Airbnb profit jumps to $650 million in 2Q, as bookings increase and rental rates hold steady
Airbnb says its second-quarter profit rose more than 70% from a year ago to $650 million thanks to strong bookings for summer-vacation rentals. The San Francisco company said Thursday that bookings grew 11% over the same period last year. That helped lift revenue. The second-quarter results beat Wall Street forecasts, according to a survey by FactSet. Airbnb predicts that bookings and average rates for rentals will remain strong in the July-through-September quarter, driving revenue slightly higher than analysts’ expectations over the rest of the summer.
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Does being in a good mood make you more generous? Researchers say yes and charities should take note
NEW YORK (AP) — Those ads showing caged dogs and desperate looking cats while Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” played in the background have been not just effective at making viewers sad, but also remarkably successful at raising money for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals since 2007. However, a new study shows other strategies may also be effective at motivating people to give. The study from Nathan Chan, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Casey Wichman, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, found that people in good moods are more likely to donate to a charitable cause.
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The S&P 500 fell 11.50 points, or 0.3%, to 4,501.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.63 points, or 0.2%, to 35,215.89. The Nasdaq composite fell 13.73 points, or 0.1%, to 13,959.72. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 5.43 points, or 0.3%, to 1,961.40.