Earnings: ExxonMobil, Chevron, etc. / GM suspends paid ads on Twitter / Amazon builds factory for its satellites

Plus, Dogecoin is up more than 40% for the week.

Inside.com Part of   Network October 28, 2022

According to an SEC filing, Elon Musk closed his Twitter takeover deal on Thursday. Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter a day before the court-ordered deadline of Oct. 28 at 5 p.m. ET. According to sources, Musk fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, legal and policy executive Vijaya Gadde, and Twitter’s general counsel Sean Edgett. More: Twitter’s top executives are estimated to collect severance packages totaling over $100M. The Washington Post reported that Musk plans to cut as much as 75% of Twitter’s staff. On Thursday, Musk shared a note to Twitter advertisers saying he would not allow the social media platform to “become a free-for-all hellscape.” According to sources, Musk, who also runs SpaceX and Tesla, would become Twitter’s interim CEO. Musk tweeted late Thursday evening, “the bird is freed.” In related news: General Motors announced on Friday that it was suspending its paid advertising on Twitter as it evaluates the company’s new direction. CEO of EV startup Fisker deleted his Twitter account earlier this year after Twitter’s board accepted Musk’s $44B takeover proposal for the company.

ExxonMobil reported a profit of $19.7B in its Q3 earnings, nearly three times the amount it reported for the same period last year. The oil and gas giant surpassed analysts’ expectations across the board. EPS came in at $4.68. More: Oil and natural gas prices have skyrocketed globally this year due to increased demand and limited supply. Exxon said it would maintain its $30B share buyback program through 2023 while increasing dividends. Exxon announced a three-cent increase to 91 cents per share for its Q4 dividend payment. The company will pay $15B to shareholders this year. Exxon shares closed at $110.53 on Friday, up ~2.6% for the day. Exxon set a new record for its share price, trading as high as $111.21 on Friday. The company is up more than 70% YTD.

Chevron released its Q3 earnings on Friday, reporting its second-highest quarterly profit. The U.S. oil giant posted a net profit of $11.2B, or $5.78 a share, up from a net profit of $6.1B reported same period last year. Chevron beat expectations across the board. More: The company posted a record $15.3B in cash flow from operations. Its oil and gas business posted an operating profit of $9.3B, up 81% YoY. Its oil refining business nearly doubled to $2.5B. Chevron said its refineries processed about 13% fewer barrels of oil per day in Q3 than a year ago, citing planned maintenance. Chevron shares closed at $179.98 on Friday, up ~1% for the day. The company is up nearly 51% YTD.

Online fast fashion brand Shein is on track to earn $24B in revenue this year, roughly 10 years since its founding. Shein was founded in China in 2012 by Xu Yangtian, Molly Miao, Maggie Gu, and Tony Ren. The company is now based in Singapore. More: Shein sells various items, primarily clothes and accessories, at ultralow prices. The company sells and ships to over 150 countries. According to sources, Shein has been profitable since 2019. Shein is privately held and does not disclose its sales metrics or financial results. Xu Yangtian is the company’s CEO, Molly Miao is the COO, Maggie Gu leads merchandise development, and Tony Ren heads supply chain.

Amazon plans to open a 172,000-square-foot factory to build satellites for Project Kuiper. The new facility is based in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb outside Seattle. The e-commerce giant unveiled Project Kuiper in 2019 – its planned network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed broadband internet. More: In 2020, the FCC approved the satellite internet system. FCC rules require Amazon to deploy at least half the number of its planned satellites within six years. This means over 1,600 satellites need to be deployed by July 2026. According to Amazon devices chief Dave Limp, the company would need to build roughly one to three or more satellites daily to meet its goal. Amazon plans to invest more than $10B into Project Kuiper.

Intel posted its Q3 earnings on Thursday, reporting a 15% drop in revenue YoY. The company also announced it was working on meeting $3B in cost reductions in 2023. It plans to grow that number to $8B to $10B in annualized cost reductions and efficiency gains by the end of 2025. More: Intel reported $15.3B in revenue; Net income came in at $1B, down 85% YoY. EPS was 25 cents. Intel booked a $664M restructuring charge in the quarter, citing the initial cost reductions. Intel shares closed at $29.07 on Friday, up ~10.7% for the day. The company is down over 45% YTD.

Quick Hits Scale up with this toolkit and get your brand on everyone’s wishlist.* Pinterest shares closed at $24.90 on Friday, up nearly 14%, after the company reported better-than-expected earnings. Pinterest generated $684.6M in revenue, up 8% YoY. Apple shares closed at $155.74 on Friday, up more than 7%, marking its best trading day since April 2020. The iPhone maker reported strong earnings on Thursday, beating analysts’ expectations. The price of Dogecoin is up more than 40% for the week following news of Elon Musk completing his Twitter takeover deal. The cryptocurrency was launched in 2013 and branded after a viral dog meme. There have been rumors that Twitter plans to launch its own crypto wallet. The Justice Department and the SEC are investigating whether Tesla misled its customers and investors about its self-driving system. According to sources, the DOJ is looking into statements Tesla and its executives made about the safety and functionality of its advanced driver-assistance system. *This is a sponsored post.

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Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring.  Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

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