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Shares of Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com plunged 10% on Wednesday in Hong Kong and was lower in US pre-market trading after retailer Walmart (WMT) confirmed it will sell its stake in the firm.
Walmart is seeking to raise about $3.74bn (£2.87bn) by selling its stake in JD.com, Bloomberg first reported. The retailer is offering 144.5 million shares at a range of $24.85 to $25.85 a share.
The deal also signals Walmart’s confidence that its own operations in China are big enough to compete in its competitive retail market.
The US retailer said it would maintain co-operation with JD.com and that the sale “allows us to better focus on the strong development of China, including the operation of Walmart Supercenter and Sam’s Club, and allocate assets to other priorities”.
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JD.com said in a statement that it was “full of confidence in the future cooperation between the two sides.”
Walmart first acquired a stake in the group in 2016 in exchange for the sale of its Chinese e-commerce site Yihaodian to JD.com. Walmart nearly doubled its holding later that year by continuing to invest in the Chinese group.
Netflix (NFLX)
Shares in the streaming company touched a new record high on Tuesday and were higher in pre-market trading as it announced a 150% increase in sales commitments over 2023.
In a blog post, Amy Reinhard, president of advertising, said the company closed upfront deals with all major holding companies as well as independent agencies.
The ad commitments included spots for consumer products, technology, entertainment, auto, retail and fast-food restaurants.
This pushed its share price to an all-time high on Tuesday morning, momentarily rising above a share price of $700.
Upcoming movies and series such as Happy Gilmore 2 and Squid Game 2, along with the recent acquisition of live sports content like the NFL Christmas Day games and WWE Raw, which will kick off in January 2024, helped fuelled the success, according to the company.
Eli Lilly (LLY)
Eli Lilly stock was higher ahead of the US opening bell after the drugmaker revealed its weight-loss drug significantly cut the risk of developing diabetes over three years.
The company’s weight loss drug Zepbound, reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 94% in obese or overweight adults with prediabetes compared with a placebo, according to initial results from a long-term study. The drug is sold as Mounjaro for diabetes in the US.
Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at Lilly, said: “These data reinforce the potential clinical benefits of long-term therapy for people living with obesity and prediabetes.”
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The company said that people who got a dose of the medicine also had an average decrease in body weight of nearly 23%, compared with 2.1% in those who got a placebo.
“We just don’t see numbers like this in metabolic space,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said.
National Express owner Mobico saw shares jump over 12% as its European coach and bus segment delivered a record half-year.
The FTSE 250 (^FTMC) transport operator also confirmed the process of selling off its struggling North American School Bus unit is now “underway,” with progression “in line with expectations.”
Mobico, which posted a 28.1% jump in its first-half profit, is selling the unit as part of a debt-cutting programme set to be rolled out in the second half of this year.
The bus unit generated £1.12bn in revenue in 2023, while the group’s net debt at the end of June stood at £1.24bn.
CEO Ignacio Garat said: “Mobico has delivered a good performance in the first half of 2024, with continuing positive passenger demand and revenue growth.
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“Addressing our leverage remains a priority and in addition to commencing the formal sale process for North American School Bus, we have identified new organic debt reduction initiatives that will deliver in the second half. We remain confident of achieving FY 24 adjusted operating profit of between £185m and £205m.”
Investors will not receive a half-year dividend payout. Last year, Mobico suspended its dividend and decided not to pay an interim dividend.
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