CEO of Uber Travis Kalanick was all smiles when he revealed the company now has 40 million monthly active riders, and expressed his belief in a future of a fleet of driverless Ubers. Stay tuned to Sentifi to see if his future will come to life.
Travis Kalanick: Sets sights on an autonomous future
Kalanick made his point that much of Uber’s value will depend on the company’s ability to roll out its own autonomous car program. The company’s ambition is clear; it wants to compete beyond the taxi industry. Google, Apple, Tesla and traditional automakers are now Uber’s competitors. Kalanick also learned from the hiccups the company had in its expansion into China to map out the next plan for international growth. Last but not least, he revealed that Uber is not going public anytime soon.
Leshi Internet Info: Enters the U.S. market with its ecosystem
The Chinese tech giant unveiled two smartphones and two TVs for the U.S. market at an event held in San Francisco. It also showcased its ecosystem which will deliver content seamlessly across different devices such as smartphones, TVs, smart bikes, VR headsets and electric autonomous cars. It also announced the User Planning to User program where consumers can raise their voices in how they want the ecosystem to evolve and in the creation of the company’s experience and the next-generation products.
Mitsubishi Motors: Joins Nissan via an acquisition
Nissan, Japan’s second-biggest automaker by sales, has acquired Mitsubishi for $2.3 billion. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will also chair Mitsubishi.
Travis Perkins: Closes 40 facilities to cut costs
British builders’ merchant and home improvement retailer has confirmed the closure of 10 of its smaller distribution and fabrication centers along with 30 stores. The move is part of a plan to optimize its network as future demand suffers from uncertainty. About 600 employees are affected by the closure.
Halliburton Co.: Makes sacrifice in market share to boost profit
CEO Dave Lesar said he’s ready to give up market share to cheaper rivals to boost profits and have a solid record of profitability. Moving forward, the company aims to strike a balance between providing the needed service while raising prices to generate profits.
BuzzFeed: Receives a $200 million investment from NBCUniversal
Comcast’s subsidiary is doubling down on BuzzFeed and doubling its investment in the company, as BuzzFeed missed its revenue target for last year and is rumored to half this year’s forecast. The company has been affected by slow growth in content-licensing revenue and the difficulties in monetizing on platforms such as Facebook.
Banc of California: Quarterly results beat estimates
The bank posted the earnings per share of $0.59 compared to analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The bank’s shares jumped 2.32 percent following the announcement.
American Express: Shares jump to seven-year high after quarterly profit beats analysts’ estimates
Shares jump 9 percent after it reported profit was $1.24 a share, beating 96 cents a share estimate. The lender also decided to up its full-year EPS forecast to $5.65 to $5.75 from $5.40 to $5.70. The company vows to cut its expenses by $1 billion by the end of 2017 after it lost its biggest co-brand partner, Costco.
Ausgrid: Sold to Australian consortium for $12.5 billion
Australia’s New South Wales government has decided to sell the state’s electricity distributor to a consortium of IFM investors and superannuation fund AustralianSuper. The sale, according to Premier Mike Baird, will help fund new infrastructure projects in the state. The deal is much cheaper than the bids from China and Hong Kong, which were blocked on security grounds.
If you want to harness the wisdom and insights from the crowd to monitor your portfolio free of charge, sign up at Sentifi.
