By Aditya Soni (Reuters) – Microsoft investors will have one big question when the tech giant reports earnings on Tuesday: has growth in its Azure cloud-computing business picked up enough to justify the billions of dollars being spent on artificial intelligence infrastructure? Widely seen as the front-runner in the race to make money from AI,…
(Reuters) -3M Co raised the low end of its full-year adjusted profit forecast on Friday expecting to benefit from restructuring measures and increasing demand for electronics, sending its shares up more than 4% in premarket trading. The company has benefited from steady price increases across categories, which have helped it offset inflation and slow demand…
PARIS (Reuters) – Google Cloud will use Mistral AI’s Codestral artificial intelligence model for Google’s Vertex AI service, Google Cloud said on Wednesday. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: The partnership highlights the rapid growth and popularity of Mistral AI, which many analysts view as the European alternative to the Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Google, meanwhile, is building its own…
(Reuters) -Chipotle Mexican Grill surpassed market estimates for quarterly sales on Wednesday as demand for its rice bowls and burritos held up even as prices increased, lifting its shares about 15% in extended trading. The California-based chain has been able to buck a larger slowdown in customer traffic within the U.S. restaurant industry, partly because…
By Nora Eckert and Nathan Gomes (Reuters) -Ford Motor reported a dip in second-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday as the automaker continues to battle costly quality issues and an EV business that is weighing on its bottom line, sending shares tumbling 12% in after-hours trading. The Detroit automaker earned an adjusted profit of 47 cents…
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Walmart’s Mexico and Central America unit posted a 9.3% year-on-year climb in its second-quarter net profit on Wednesday, as its sales and in-store traffic grew. Net profit reached 12.51 billion pesos ($684.12 million), from revenues up 6.4% to 225.75 billion pesos, the company said in a statement. Same-store sales in the quarter…
BEIJING (Reuters) – A decision by the Trump administration to sanction China’s Xiaomi Corp in early 2021 was the catalyst for the company’s decision to build its first electric car, CEO Lei Jun said on Friday. Best known for its smartphones and home appliances, Xiaomi entered China’s crowded EV market this year, part of its…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s lithium prices rebounded on Friday after a powerful earthquake hit Chile’s major lithium producing region, although growing demand concerns weighed on the metal used in electric vehicle batteries. The most-traded November lithium carbonate futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange rose 2.9% to 89,800 yuan ($12,356.89) per metric ton on Friday, having…
(Reuters) -Credit card giant American Express raised its full-year profit forecast on Friday, as its wealthy customers persisted in splurging on travel, dining and entertainment. The company also reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit, underscoring the benefit it has enjoyed by focusing on a premium customer base. AmEx’s affluent cardholders have somewhat insulated it from weakness in…
By Aatreyee Dasgupta (Reuters) – Top U.S. steelmakers are expected to post a decline in second-quarter earnings and could face additional pressure from a further retreat in steel prices heading into a slow summer season, according to analysts. Nucor, Steel Dynamics and U.S. Steel have highlighted a fall in profitability in their steel-making operations on…
