In the first three weeks of the new iPhone's launch, sales in China surged 20 percent from the previous generation. Samsung's new chip factory in Texas, United States, has yet to win any major customers. Nestlé AG announced an organizational restructuring. Convenience store giant ACT wants to acquire all of the 7-Eleven parent company's business. Nestle, Procter & Gamble, United States Express, Volvo Group, Zijin Mining, China Tower, and Intuitive Surgery announced results. Apple's latest iPhone sold 20 percent more in China in the first three weeks of its launch than its 2023 product, a positive sign for Apple's phones, which are facing challenges in the world's largest smartphone market this year. According to Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 16 series, which was launched in September, has so far outperformed its predecessor. Consumers continue to move to higher-priced models, with the high-end Pro and Pro Max models selling 44% more than their predecessors last year. In the previous year, the iPhone 15 series suffered production problems early on, which may have limited initial sales. At the same time, it also faces challenges from Huawei's Mate 60 mobile phone series.
Samsung has postponed the delivery of ASML's chip equipment because its new plant in Taylor, Texas, United States, has not yet won any major customers. Samsung has also suspended placing orders with other suppliers for its new plant in Texas, which has led to suppliers finding other customers and withdrawing employees from the site. The Taylor project is the core of Samsung's chairman Lee Jae-yong's chip foundry plan. This highlights the widening gap between Samsung and competitors such as TSMC and SK hynix, whose main rival is ramping up production of high-end chips to meet the booming demand for AI applications.
The world's largest chip foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), said it expects to start production of microchips at its first new factory in Arizona in early 2025. TSMC initially outlined plans to invest $65 billion to build a new plant in Arizona in 2020 and began construction in 2021. TSMC currently plans to build three chip factories on the outskirts of Phoenix.
Intel is looking to sell its stake in its programmable chip manufacturing subsidiary, Altera, to receive a strategic investment or PE investment. Intel values the company at about $17 billion. Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for $16.7 billion. In February, Intel announced that it would make Altera an independent subsidiary and that it intends to spin it off through an initial public offering (IPO). Just last month, Intel's CEO Pat Gelsinger said that Intel's leadership sees Altera as a core part of Intel's future.
Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's senior executive for search engine and advertising products, is stepping down after four years leading the company's core profitable business. Google veteran Nick Fox will succeed Raghavan. Fox has been working in the search department for a long time. Raghavan will take on a new role as Google's chief technology officer, working alongside CEO Sundar Pichai · the team. Market research firm eMarketer said it expects Google's search ads business to fall below 50 percent in United States market share next year, the first time in more than a decade.
Meta laid off about two dozen employees last week for using its $25 meal credit to buy household items, including acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent. Meta's Silicon Valley headquarters offers free meals to its employees as a benefit. Employees who work in small offices without canteens can earn Uber Eats or Grubhub credits. Employees receive a daily allowance of $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and $25 for dinner. Each meal subsidy is paid in increments of $25. Employees who were fired were considered to have abused the food credit system for a long time. Some people pool their money together, while others deliver meals to their homes, even though the points are for the office.
United Kingdom graduates face the toughest competition for jobs ever, as they enter a slowing labour market, with applications for every position surging due to the use of artificial intelligence. The United Kingdom Student Employers Association said employers implementing graduate training programmes received an average of 140 applications per position in 2024, 59% more than in 2023. This is the highest number recorded in the annual survey conducted by the organization for more than three decades.
Self-driving startup Pony.ai (Pony.ai) filed for an IPO. In its filing with the United States SEC on Thursday, the company did not disclose how many shares it would issue or give an expected offering price range. Pony.ai has launched robotaxi services in Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The company partnered with Toyota Motor last year to mass-produce robotaxis in China.
By 2025, SHIMANO in Japan will commercialize a new transmission system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to control bicycle drive. AI learns the rider's habits and automatically shifts gears. SHIMANO has a high market share in the transmission segment of high-end vehicles such as road bikes. The new system will be available for everyday use such as shopping. Fight against the growing popularity of electrically assisted bicycles (E-bikes) with new fields.
Automaker Stellantis announced Friday that it plans to close and sell the company's large vehicle testing site in Arizona, United States, by the end of the year. The 4,000-acre Arizona test site has been used for automotive testing and development since Chrysler acquired the site from Ford Motor Company for $35 million in 2007. Stellantis plans to use Toyota's test site in Arizona starting next year. Toyota opened its expensive testing facility in 2021 for use by other companies.
Blackstone, the world's largest private capital group, said Thursday that it plans to take some of its biggest investments public after sluggish asset sales hit its third-quarter profits. Blackstone believes that the recent technology-driven rally in global equity markets is a sign that investor interest in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be restored. This paved the way for the sale of shares in the group, whose global assets now total $1.1 trillion.
McKinsey is adjusting its strategic presence in China. The number of employees in its China business unit has plummeted by nearly 500, accounting for about one-third of the region's total workforce. The United States-based consulting firm has managed to separate its China operations from other global operations.
United States drug retail giant CVS Health announced a management change on Friday. The company appointed David Joyner as its new chief executive officer, ending a tumultuous tenure at the pharmaceutical retail giant by current CEO Karen Lynch. Longtime executive Joyner officially took over on Thursday. Previously, the company had repeatedly failed to meet its earnings targets, sparking discontent among shareholders.
Nestle announced on October 17 that its board of directors has approved changes to the company's organizational structure effective January 1, 2025. Nestlé has also announced changes to its Executive Board. According to the announcement, Latin America and North America will merge to form the Americas, led by Steve Presley, who will be relocated to Nestlé's headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland. Greater China will be part of the Asia, Oceania and Africa region and will be led by Remy Ejel. Xiqiang Zhang will step down from the Executive Board and continue to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greater China. The European zone will continue to be led by Guillaume Le Cunff and remain unchanged.
McDonald's China announced plans to open more than 170 new restaurants in Suzhou in the next five years, further accelerating its business development and restaurant network expansion in Suzhou. At present, there are 121 McDonald's restaurants in Suzhou. It is expected that in the next five years, the total number of McDonald's restaurants in Suzhou will exceed 290. McDonald's China has put forward the "10,000 Store Plan", and the speed of opening stores in Jiangsu has been accelerating, and now a new McDonald's restaurant is opening in the province every three days on average. This year, the new building of McDonald's China Science and Technology R&D Center was also opened in Jiangsu, in collaboration with the McDonald's China headquarters in Shanghai, through the Yangtze River Delta regional innovation network, to serve McDonald's development across the country.
Domino's China announced an update to its shareholder structure related to Domino's Pizza's subsidiary. Domino's Pizza LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Domino's Pizza, has recently agreed to transfer its 10 million shares in Domino's China, representing approximately 7.66% of Domino's China's total issued share capital, to a group of institutional investors through an over-the-counter block transaction. Following the share transfer, Domino's Pizza LLC retains approximately 8.1 million shares, representing approximately 6.21% of Domino's China's total issued share capital, and has committed that its remaining shares will be locked up for 90 days after closing of the transaction.
Lazada Group, the Southeast Asian e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group Holding, is accelerating its investment in generative artificial intelligence (AI) in an effort to regain a dominant position in a highly competitive market with limited margin expansion. At one time, Lazada Group had a near monopoly on the Southeast Asian market. Today, the company is using generative AI technology to overhaul its shopping site to attract more types of users. The website will provide personalized shopping recommendations and after-sales service for shoppers through AI agents.
Alex Miller, president and chief executive officer of Canada convenience store company Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT), said Oct. 17 in response to a proposed acquisition of Seven & I Holdings that he was "interested in consolidating all businesses." He said that he hopes to not only acquire convenience stores, the main business of Qiheyi Holdings, but also include supermarkets and restaurant chains. ACT has proposed a JPY 7 trillion acquisition to Seven and E Holdings. ACT is not considering only acquiring businesses in specific regions, such as North America's store network, and has made it clear that it is not considering other options at this time.
Financial Reporting Information
Zijin Mining disclosed its third quarter report for 2024. In the first three quarters, the company achieved operating income of 230.396 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.39%; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 24.357 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50.68%. During the reporting period, the output of the company's main mineral products increased, and the cost was effectively controlled. At the same time, the company's ability to study and judge the metal market has been further improved, and it has fully enjoyed the benefits brought by the rise in metal prices. The operating income in the third quarter was 79.98 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.11%. The net profit attributable to shareholders for the quarter was 9.273 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 58.17%.
China Tower announced that its operating income in the first three quarters of 2024 will be 72.452 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%; Profit attributable to shareholders of the company was 8.153 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.0%. During the period, the operator's business revenue was RMB63.124 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%; Among them, the revenue of tower business was 56.902 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.9%; The revenue of indoor distributed antenna system business was 6.222 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18%. Zhilian's business revenue was 6.073 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%; The revenue of energy business was 3.071 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1%.
Sweden TRUCK MANUFACTURER VOLVO GROUP ANNOUNCED ITS THIRD-QUARTER 2024 RESULTS. Quarterly net sales were 116,978 million Sweden kronor, compared to 132,275 million Sweden kronor in the same period of the previous year, down 12% year-on-year. Quarterly adjusted operating profit was 14,074 million Sweden kronor compared to 19,258 million Sweden kronor in the same period of the previous year, down 26.92% year-on-year. Profit for the period was 10,073 million Sweden kroon, compared to 14,093 million Sweden kroons in the same period of the previous year. Volvo Group said lower profits were due to lower volumes, which were also affected by higher R&D spending and a negative price mix.
Germany high-tech company TRUMPF has announced its results for the 2023/24 fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. Group sales fell by 3.6 percent to 5.2 billion euros, compared to 5.4 billion euros in the 2022/23 financial year. Operating profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) decreased by 114 million euros to 501 million euros. The Machine Tools division has the largest share of 2.8 billion euros. Sales in the Laser Technology division amounted to 1.4 billion euros, of which 572 million euros were generated in the Electronics division and 943 million euros in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) for chip manufacturing.
Nestle reports results for the first nine months of 2024. Group sales totaled 67.1 billion Switzerland francs in the first nine months, down 2.4 percent year-on-year, with an organic growth rate of 2 percent. By region, sales declined to varying degrees across all five regions, with coffee, pet care and confectionery being the key drivers of growth by product category. In the first nine months, Nestlé Greater China achieved sales of 3.6 billion Switzerland francs, down 2% year-on-year, with an organic growth rate of 2.5%.
Procter & Gamble announced results for the fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2024. Net sales for the quarter were $21,737 million, compared to $21,871 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit for the quarter was $5,797 million, compared to $5,767 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to the company for the quarter was $3.959 billion, compared to $4.521 billion in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 12%.
United States Express announced third-quarter 2024 results. Total revenue after interest expense for the quarter was $16,636 million, compared to $15,381 million in the same period last year, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Quarterly net income was $2.507 billion, compared to $2.451 billion in the same period last year, an increase of 2% year-on-year.
Intuitive Surgical Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results. Total revenue for the quarter was $2,038 million, compared to $1,744 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to the Company for the quarter was $565 million, compared to $416 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from devices and accessories for the period was $1,264 million, compared to $1,071 million in the same period last year. The total number of da Vinci surgical system installations reached 9,539, a year-on-year increase of 15%.
Yesterday's audio replay:
Recommend a Global Consumer Retail Information account
![Yole: This automotive chip LiDAR track is the first in China[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)