Ford falls, Amazon advances pharmacy pursuits and Disney board member speaks – our takes the news
Ford on Tuesday kept its 2024 guidance unchanged. Meanwhile, Amazon’s pharmacy business adds another piece of the puzzle, with Disney’s newest board member joining the entertainment giant’s ongoing proxy fight. Here’s a closer look at those headlines and what we think of each one. F YTD mountain F Stock performance so far this year. News: Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler reiterated the company’s 2024 operating guidance at the BofA Securities Auto Summit on Tuesday. Ford still expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to be $10 billion to $12 billion; generate $6 billion to $7 billion in adjusted free cash flow; and spend $8 billion to $9.5 billion in capital expenditures – as the company as the company presented in early February, as well as its fourth-quarter 2023 results earlier this month. Club View: Ford shares took a beating on Tuesday, falling 3.6%, even as rival General Motors rose 1% intraday. The difference in stock performance is not huge. When Ford first issued its guidance, we thought it was optimistic. That fact, reiterated Tuesday, suggests management’s efforts to cut about $2 billion in costs are on track and that its scaling back of investments in electric vehicles and increased focus on hybrid vehicles are on track. In fact, Ford’s February sales numbers showed strong momentum in the hybrid market. Ford got back on track with its February earnings report, but going forward we’ll still need to see consistency in profits, cash flow and quality control while managing losses in its electric vehicle unit. We raised our price target on Ford stock to $15 from $13 following Ford’s fourth-quarter earnings report. “It’s time for Ford to break out,” Jim Cramer said during Monday’s final sprint. Investors will get the latest news on the strength of Ford’s business on April 24, when the automaker reports first-quarter 2024 results after the close. AMZN Alpine AMZN stock performance so far this year. News: Amazon on Tuesday launched same-day delivery of prescription drugs for customers in New York City and the greater Los Angeles area. Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, said in a press release that the service, available through Amazon Pharmacy, launched in 2020, is part of the company’s efforts to provide “the fastest and most convenient prescription home delivery service.” Amazon said it can buy medicines for the flu, diabetes and other common ailments through the service. To help provide fast delivery, Amazon said it is using artificial intelligence to “help pharmacists fill prescriptions quickly and accurately.” The e-commerce giant plans to expand same-day drug delivery to a dozen cities by the end of the year. The service is available to customers in Seattle, Miami, Indianapolis, Phoenix and Austin, Texas. Club View: Amazon’s expansion of same-day delivery of prescription drugs is another sign of the company’s focus on health care innovation. We’re always encouraged by efforts to increase the value of a Prime subscription. Tuesday’s announcement doesn’t really move the needle from a financial perspective. Still, the ability to offer same-day delivery of prescriptions highlights Amazon’s logistics and delivery capabilities. For its traditional e-commerce business, the company has wisely streamlined its fulfillment network to reduce delivery times and overall delivery costs, helping it make more money. Overall, we feel good about Amazon’s position, especially given its relationship with Nvidia in artificial intelligence, as Jim detailed in his Sunday column. DIS YTD Mountain DIS stock’s year-to-date performance. News: The newest member of Disney’s board of directors, Morgan Stanley Executive Chairman James Gorman, expressed his thoughts on the entertainment company’s proxy fight in an interview with CNBC. “A lot of this fight seems to be looking to the past. I’m more interested in why I joined the board to look to the future,” Gorman said. His comments come ahead of Disney’s annual meeting, scheduled for April 3, where Trian Partner’s Nelson Peltz is seeking a board seat alongside former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo. While Disney’s stock price has underperformed relative to the broader market and its rivals in recent years, Gorman cited the “major disruption in the industry from linear to streaming” as it navigates a challenging post-pandemic environment. period”. With CEO Berger Iger back at the helm, the company is “turning that around. The performance of the stock is proof of that,” Gorman explained. Disney shares are up nearly 33% year to date, but the stock has significantly underperformed the S&P 500 over five years. Its cumulative total return over that time was 9.7%, compared with the S&P 500’s 100.2% cumulative total return, according to FactSet. Club Opinion: We have supported Peltz’s bid for two seats on Disney’s board of directors. Given Peltz’s years of governance experience at consumer products companies such as Procter & Gamble, Wendy’s, Heinz and Unilever, we believe Peltz will play a key role in creating shareholder value and recovering losses from Disney’s underperforming businesses. In our view, the pressure Peltz put on Hardini through this proxy fight has helped galvanize management and contributed to the stock’s recent strong performance. Disney stock hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday, closing at just under $120 per share. As discussed in Monday morning’s meeting, given the stock’s year-to-date gains, we would consider trimming our position if we were not constrained. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long F, AMZN, DIS. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club , you will receive trade alerts before Jim Cramer trades. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust portfolio. If Jim talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he would wait 72 hours after issuing a trade alert before executing the trade. The investment club information above is subject to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and our Disclaimer. No fiduciary duty or obligation shall exist or arise upon your receipt of any information relating to the Investment Club. No specific results or profits are guaranteed.
Ford CEO Jim Farley poses for a photo at a press conference to announce that Ford Motor Company will partner with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s largest battery company, in Marshall, Miss. Create an electric car battery factory. December 13, 2023, Romulus, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images
Ford It kept its 2024 guidance unchanged on Tuesday. at the same time, AmazonPharmacy efforts add another problem disneyThe latest board member to weigh in on the entertainment giant’s ongoing proxy battle. Here’s a closer look at those headlines and what we think of each one.
Svlook
