20.11.2024

Walmart raises forecast again + Bitcoin: Is the next price explosion already in the starting blocks + Symrise wants to take over Swedish biotech company Probi completely

The US supermarket group Walmart $WMT (+3,54 %) is once again raising its forecast. Net sales are expected to increase by 4.8 to 5.1 percent in the current financial year (until the end of January), excluding currency effects, as the company announced on Tuesday in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart had already raised its outlook in mid-August and expected growth of 3.75 to 4.75 percent. The share price rose by almost five percent in pre-market trading and is therefore likely to continue its record rally. According to the new forecast, operating profit adjusted for special effects is expected to increase by 8.5 to 9.25 percent. Previously, the supermarket group had only expected 6.5 to 8 percent. Walmart is now planning adjusted earnings per share of 2.42 to 2.47 US dollars, compared to the previous target of 2.35 to 2.43 dollars. In the third quarter of the financial year to the end of October, sales rose by 5.5 percent to 169.6 billion dollars (160.58 billion euros) compared to the same period last year. Adjusted for currency effects, the increase amounted to 6.2 percent. Adjusted operating profit increased nominally by 8.2 percent to 6.7 billion dollars. Adjusted earnings per share rose by just under 14 percent to 0.58 dollars. Walmart's figures exceeded analysts' expectations.

In the USA, another milestone in the development of Bitcoin $BTC (+1,59 %) into an established investment instrument. Yesterday, trading in options on the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) $IBIT started yesterday. This could lead to a huge price explosion à la MicroStrategy $MSTR (+3,53 %) price explosion. On November 18, the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) announced that the necessary regulatory preparations had been completed. The IBIT ETF will be the first Bitcoin spot ETF on which options can be traded. Nasdaq plans to list the options starting November 19, as Alison Hennessy, Head of ETP Listings, explained.

The probi main shareholder Symrise $SY1 (+1,72 %) wants to acquire its Swedish biotech investment. The manufacturer of fragrances and flavors wants to pay 350 Swedish crowns (30.24 euros) in cash for each outstanding share, the DAX-listed company announced on Wednesday. The offer corresponds to a premium of 42 percent compared to the closing price on Tuesday. In total, the Probi acquisition is valued at just under four billion crowns (344 million euros). Shareholders are expected to be able to accept the offer from December 18. Symrise already holds almost 70 percent of the shares in Probi. The largest shareholders after Symrise, Fjärde AP-fonden and Moneta Asset Management, have also already accepted the offer - they hold just under 18 percent of the outstanding shares. As soon as Symrise owns more than 90 percent of all shares, Probi will reportedly be delisted from the stock exchange.

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

ex-dividend of individual stocks

Hasbro USD 0.70

Target 1.12 USD

Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia

14:30 Delta Air Lines Investor Day

15:00 Stanley Black & Decker Capital Capital Markets Day

22:20 Nvidia quarterly figures

No time specified: Snowflake | Target | Palo Alto Networks Quarterly figures

Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe

08:00 Sage Group | British Land Company Quarterly figures

08:30 Symrise Capital | STMicroelectronics Markets Day

09:00 Novartis: Meet Novartis Management 2024

09:30 VW: IG Metall - Volkswagen Works Council, presentation of future concept for the VW brand

10:00 HSBC Holdings AGM

Economic data

• 00:50 JP: Trade Balance November Trade Balance PROGNOSE: -345.2 bn Yen previous: -294.3 bn Yen Exports PROGNOSE: +3.9% yoy previous: -1.7% yoy
• 02:00 CN: People's Bank of China (PBoC), decision on reference rates for corporate loans Reference rate 1-year loans PROGNOSE: 3.10% previously: 3.10% Reference rate 5-year loans PROGNOSE: 3.60% previously: 3.60%
• 08:00 DE: Producer prices October PROGNOSE: -0.4% yoy/-0.9% yoy previous: -0.5% yoy/-1.4% yoy
• 08:00 UK: Consumer Prices October PROGNOSE: +0.5% yoy/+2.2% yoy previous: 0.0% yoy/+1.7% yoy | Producer Prices October (Output) PROGNOSE: +0.2% yoy/+0.7% yoy previous: -0.5% yoy/-0.7% yoy