[True Burn Finance] April 26 Noon Briefing: Google's parent company reports highest quarterly revenue growth in two years, announces first-ever dividend. Shares surge over 11% after hours.
"Despite the pressure from Meta's stock price plummeting over 10% after its earnings report, tech giant Alphabet, the parent company of Google, delivered a satisfactory performance and announced its first-ever dividend payout, along with an increase in stock buybacks. Huawei partnered with BYD and 10 other automakers and operators to establish the 'Ultra-Fast Charging Alliance,' aiming to deploy 100,000 ultra-fast charging stations this year. HSBC suspended its independent asset management business in Hong Kong and Singapore."
Key News
Alphabet's Q1 Revenue Growth Hits Two-Year High, Announces First Dividend, Shares Surge Over 11% After Hours$Alphabet(GOOGL.US) $Alphabet - C(GOOG.US)
l Despite the pressure from Meta's stock price plummeting over 10% after its earnings report, tech giant Alphabet, the parent company of Google, delivered a satisfactory performance and announced its first-ever dividend payout, along with an increase in stock buybacks.
l On April 25 local time, after the U.S. market closed, Alphabet released its Q1 2024 earnings report for the period ending March 31. The report showed that Alphabet's revenue reached $80.539 billion, up 15% year-over-year, surpassing analysts' expectations of $78.57 billion, marking the fastest revenue growth since early 2022. Non-GAAP net profit was $23.662 billion, up 57% year-over-year, with diluted earnings per share at $1.89, above the market expectation of $1.51.
l Additionally, Google announced its first-ever dividend payout on June 17 this year, distributing $0.20 per share in cash for Class A, B, and C shares registered as of June 10, 2024, and stated that the company "plans to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future." Google also revealed that its board authorized an additional buyback of up to $70 billion in Class A and C shares.
l Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, "Our Q1 performance reflects strong results in Search, YouTube, and Cloud. The company is progressing smoothly in the Gemini era, with robust momentum overall. Our leadership in AI research and infrastructure, combined with our global product footprint, lays a solid foundation for the next wave of AI innovation."
l Alphabet and Google CFO Ruth Porat stated that the strong Q1 performance reflects the revenue strength across all business segments and the ongoing efforts to reshape the cost base sustainably.
Huawei Partners with BYD and 10 Other Automakers and Operators to Establish 'Ultra-Fast Charging Alliance,' Aims to Deploy 100,000 Ultra-Fast Charging Stations This Year$BYD COMPANY(01211.HK)
l Ahead of the 18th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Huawei Digital Energy unveiled its 'One Body, Three Aspects' electrification strategy to accelerate the automotive electrification process. In 2024, Huawei Digital Energy plans to collaborate with partners to deploy over 100,000 ultra-fast charging stations. At the launch event, Huawei Digital Energy partnered with 11 automakers, including Avatr, BAIC, and BYD, along with over 500 online and offline charging operators and industry associations, to establish the 'Ultra-Fast Charging Alliance.'
l Hou Jinlong, Huawei Director and President of Huawei Digital Energy, said in his keynote speech, "China's new energy vehicle industry has undergone over a decade of development, with three notable shifts: users transitioning from commercial vehicles to private car owners, electrification shifting from long-range batteries to ultra-fast charging, and annual sales growing from millions to tens of millions. These shifts are evolving from quantitative to qualitative changes, and accelerating the construction of high-quality ultra-fast charging infrastructure will be key to driving these transformations."
l In the automotive electrification sector, Huawei Digital Energy positions itself as a provider of powertrain and charging network solutions. In the smart electric vehicle domain, it aims to help automakers build better cars and deliver an exceptional driving experience. In the smart charging network domain, it focuses on providing high-quality charging solutions for operators to enable rapid energy replenishment. Huawei's 'One Body, Three Aspects' electrification strategy is based on a unified technological foundation and includes three key aspects:
l First, "Powering new energy vehicles with new energy electricity." This supports the synergistic development of new energy vehicles and the transformation of power systems. While enhancing the grid's renewable energy ratio, Huawei Digital Energy also offers integrated solar-storage-charging solutions for industrial parks, highways, rural areas, and households to enable local green energy consumption. Additionally, it explores vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-building (V2B), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, leveraging new energy vehicles as mobile energy storage to boost renewable energy penetration and grid compatibility.
l Second, "Ensuring high-quality charging wherever there are roads." Through its "one kilometer per second" all-liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging solution, Huawei aims to build a comprehensive high-quality charging infrastructure, including urban ultra-fast charging hubs, highway charging corridors, and rural charging points. Currently, Huawei's all-liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging solution has been deployed in over 30 provinces, including Beijing, Guangdong, Chongqing, Shanghai, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, and Sichuan, covering extreme environments. In 2024, Huawei Digital Energy plans to collaborate with partners to deploy over 100,000 ultra-fast charging stations. It also introduced charging solutions for county markets, supporting ultra-fast integration, capacity expansion, and a 15-year lifespan to achieve "ultra-fast charging stations in every county and ultra-fast charging points in every township."
l Third, "Delivering exceptional powertrain performance for new energy vehicles." By leveraging advanced silicon carbide devices, ultra-high-speed motors, and thermal management technologies, Huawei has launched multiple high-voltage, high-efficiency electric drive systems to help automakers deliver "one kilometer per second" ultra-fast charging and "10 kilometers per kWh" high-efficiency energy use. The newly launched DriveONE ultra-integrated electric drive system will collaborate with automakers and leading battery manufacturers to define Class A ultra-fast charging vehicles. In the future, Huawei DriveONE will continue to introduce cutting-edge smart powertrain solutions to achieve "10 kilometers per kWh, worry-free travel worldwide."
HSBC Suspends Independent Asset Management Business in Hong Kong and Singapore$HSBC HOLDINGS(00005.HK)
l HSBC Holdings announced that, due to strategic considerations, its global private banking division will suspend independent asset management services in Hong Kong and Singapore. The bank will continue to provide wealth management services to single-family and multi-family offices. HSBC stated it would assist affected clients. Insiders revealed that HSBC will terminate partnerships with Hong Kong family offices due to risk concerns.
Today's Forex and Commodities Update
EUR/USD: Euro Hovers Near 1.0730 After Volatile Thursday
l The euro fell sharply against the U.S. dollar on Thursday amid mixed U.S. economic data.
l U.S. GDP growth slowed more than expected, but PCE inflation indicators signaled persistent price pressures.
l U.S. PCE price index data will be released during Friday's U.S. trading session.
l The euro fluctuated significantly on Thursday and traded near 1.0730 in early Asian trading on Friday, with choppy movements as mixed U.S. data dampened rate-cut hopes.
l On Thursday, U.S. GDP growth slowed to an annualized rate of 1.6% in Q1, down from 3.4% in Q4 2023 and below the expected 2.5%. While slower growth could support Fed rate cuts, overly aggressive cuts might negatively impact the broader economy.
l U.S. Q1 PCE inflation reaccelerated to 3.4%, up from 1.7% in Q4 2023, further reducing rate-cut expectations. Persistent inflation dampened risk sentiment during U.S. trading hours, followed by a modest recovery.
l With limited European data on Friday, markets will focus on the U.S. March PCE price index for clearer inflation insights. The core monthly PCE is expected to remain at 0.3%, with the annual rate projected to dip slightly from 2.8% to 2.6%.
Precious Metals: World's Largest Gold Stock Soars, Leading S&P 500 Gainers
l Newmont, the world's largest gold miner, surged 12.46% after its earnings report on Thursday, topping the S&P 500 gainers list.
l The rally in gold prices since mid-February, from $2,000 to $2,400 per ounce, boosted Newmont's earnings.
l Q1 sales reached $4.023 billion, up from $2.679 billion a year earlier, with gold sales rising from $2.3 billion to $3.3 billion. Gold production increased from 1.3 million ounces to 1.7 million ounces.
l Newmont reported an average Q1 gold selling price of $2,090 per ounce, $136 higher than the 2023 average.
l On costs, Q1 CAS (costs applicable to sales) was $1,057 per ounce, while AISC (all-in sustaining costs) was $1,439 per ounce.
Crude Oil: Oil Rises to Over One-Week High After Early Dip
l Oil prices rebounded on Thursday, with WTI and Brent crude closing at their highest levels in over a week.
l Prices had declined earlier due to weak gasoline demand data and economic concerns.
l June Brent crude rose 99 cents (1.1%) to $89.01 per barrel.
l Both WTI and Brent hit their highest closes since April 16. WTI had briefly touched a one-month low intraday.
l Manish Raj of Velandera Energy Partners noted, "The oil market saw low-volume volatility. Too many were short, and now they're covering positions."
l The EIA reported a 6.4-million-barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories but only a 600,000-barrel decline in gasoline stocks, missing expectations and pressuring prices on Wednesday.
l Zaner analysts noted disappointment among bulls, as the market reacted more to gasoline demand concerns than the expected crude draw.
l Gasoline demand fell by 239,000 barrels per day to 8.4 million barrels per day, raising worries about softening fuel demand amid economic cooling signs.
l U.S. Q1 GDP growth slowed to 1.6%, the lowest in nearly two years.
l Raj added, "The weak GDP data rattled oil traders, who wonder if this is a precursor to worse outcomes."
Source: Goldhorse Capital Extramile
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