Coffee With Greta: Lucid Slashes Production Goals Again
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Good morning friends!
Futures are flat as traders digest fresh jobs data and earnings results.
Let’s get right to it!
Lucid Plunges After Cutting Production Target
Lucid (LCID) shares are down 12.7% ahead of the open after missing Q2 sales expectations and slashing its 2022 production target.
The electric automaker reported a loss of $0.33 per share on $97.3 million in revenue.
That was better than analysts’ expectations for a loss of $0.39 per share but missed estimates for $145 million in revenue.
Lucid delivered just 679 cars in Q2.
Although the company said it has over 37,000 reservations for its Air sedan it still cut its full-year delivery guidance.
Lucid now expects to deliver just 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles this year.
The CEO said, “Our revised production guidance reflects the extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges we encountered. We’ve identified the primary bottlenecks, and we are taking appropriate measures – bringing our logistics operations in-house, adding key hires to the executive team, and restructuring our logistics and manufacturing organization.”
The company hired a former Stellantis (STLA) executive to serve as its senior vice president of operations.
He will run Lucid’s manufacturing, logistics, and quality-control efforts.
WeWork Slips On Weak Q2 Results
WeWork (WE) shares are down 2.3% in premarket trade after reporting a wider loss than expected in Q2.
The flexible workplace provider reported a loss of $0.76 per share on $815 million in revenue.
That was worse than analysts’ expectations for a loss of $0.58 per share on $824.3 million in revenue.
But WeWork’s adjusted EBITDA was negative $134 million, which was better than analysts’ estimates for negative $158.2 million.
The company confirmed its full-year outlook.
Alibaba Jumps on Earnings Beat
Alibaba (BABA) shares are up 5.2% ahead of the open after beating fiscal Q1 expectations.
The Chinese online retailer reporting earnings of $0.22 per share on $30.7 billion in revenue.
That was better than analysts’ expectations for EPS of $0.20 on $30.3 billion in revenue.
Revenue was flat year-over-year and dropped 1% in the Chinese commerce segment.
That’s a sharp slowdown from the same time last year when revenue grew 34% annually.
Alibaba did not provide forward guidance.
Walmart Begins Corporate Layoffs
Walmart (WMT) shares are flat in premarket trade after beginning corporate layoffs.
The retailer confirmed it started those layoffs on Wednesday.
Walmart said the cuts are an effort to “better position the company for a strong future.”
The layoffs come after the company slashed its profit outlook just last week.
A Walmart spokesperson said, “Shoppers are changing. Customers are changing. We are doing some restructuring to make sure we’re aligned.”
It’s unclear how many employees will be cut and which divisions will be impacted.
Weekly Jobless Claims Rise
Weekly jobless claims rose again last week as the labor market remains tight.
The Labor Department reported 260,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits last week.
That was up by 6,000 from the week before and in-line with economists’ expectations.
Continuing claims also rose by 50,000 to 1.42 million in the week ending July 23.
This data comes ahead of the July jobs report on Friday.
That’s expected to show the U.S. economy added 258,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.6%.
Trade Deficit Narrows in June
The U.S. trade deficit shrank more than expected in June.
The Commerce Department reported that gap fell to $79.6 billion.
That’s down 6.2% from May and lower than expectations for $80 billion.
Exports rose 1.7% to $260.8 billion while imports fell 0.3% to $340.4 billion.
Oil Prices Slip On Falling U.S. Fuel Demand
Oil prices are slipping on concerns over low fuel demand in the U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down 0.2% to over $90 bbl while Brent crude futures are down 0.6% to over $96 bbl.
The Energy Information Administration reported a drop in U.S. gasoline demand Wednesday.
That demand fell to 8.59 barrels per day last week from 8.81 million barrels the week before.
That was down sharply from 9.42 million barrels per day a year ago.
The EIA report showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.5 million barrels last week.
That sharply beat analysts’ expectations for a 1.7 million barrel increase.
Gasoline stockpiles rose by 200,000 barrels vs expectations for a 1.5 million barrel drop.
In Case You Missed It
- Ford (F) shares jumped 3.5% on Wednesday after the automaker reported strong July sales. The company sold 163,942 new vehicles last month, up 36.6% year-over-year and 7.7% from June. F-series pickup truck sales rose 21.1% annually and 10% monthly to 63,341. Electric vehicle sales surged 169% year-over-year to 7,700. Ford said it share of the EV market in the U.S. jumped to 10.9% in July.