Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft crossed a $3tn trillion (£2.4tn) market capitalisation for the first time in its history Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence boom sent shares of the company’s stock soaring.
Microsoft became the second-ever company to exceed a $3tn valuation, after Apple (AAPL) hit that milestone in July last year.
Microsoft’s stock has been rallying in recent months, as the company continues to ride an AI hype train from investors and is up 7% this year.
Microsoft’s market value is now larger than the entire GDP of France and just behind that of the UK.
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Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “As one of the magnificent seven, Microsoft is a stock market darling. There’s bubbling excitement about the group’s AI tools, broader cloud products, as well as ongoing recognition for its resilient bread and butter software.”
But she warned that some of Microsoft’s revenue relied upon the number of new computers being sold and “there has been some weakness here”.
Tesla share prices fell more than 5% in after hours trading as the EV maker’s revenues and profits missed expectations.
The company revealed on Wednesday night that operating profits in the fourth quarter of the year had almost halved to $2.1bn (£1.7bn).
It was the second straight drop and meant for 2023 as a whole, operating income fell by 35% to $8.9bn, the first fall since the company turned profitable in 2020.
Tesla said revenue rose by 3% in the fourth quarter to $25.2bn and climbed by 15% for the year to a record $82.4bn.
Elon Musk’s company cautioned growth would be “notably lower” than in 2023, when deliveries rose 38%.
Musk also warned that Chinese rivals “will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world” unless trade barriers are put in place.
Wizz air shares plunged 5% as the low cost carrier reported mounting losses amid cancelled flights due to the geopolitical crisis in Israel.
Wizz Air losses widened in the third quarter as the budget carrier grapples with capacity issues tied to engine inspections that have grounded parts of its fleet and the suspension of flights due to the Middle East conflict.
The low-cost carrier reported a loss of €105.4m (£90.20m) in the three months to December, down from a profit of €33.5m the prior year. Operating losses increased by 16%, from €155.5m to €180.4m.
Passenger ticket revenue increased by 19.2% to €553.9m
“Results for 3Q were somewhat disappointing, due to lower-than-expected ancillary revenue,” said analysts at Peel Hunt.
The airline maintained its fiscal 2024 net income expectations after a positive start to its fourth quarter ending March.
Dr. Martens (DOCS.L)
Shoemaker Dr. Martens said that a poor performance in the US and cautious customers hit its top line in the last three months of 2023.
Revenue dipped 21% to £267.1m in the third quarter of its financial year.
The company’s American business, which last year had to deal with a major warehouse problem, now faces a “weak consumer backdrop”, it said.
Sales in the Americas retreated 31%. They fell 15% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and were down 8% in the Asia-Pacific region.
Nevertheless, it said its guidance for the full year of “a revenue decline of high single-digit percentage” remained unchanged.
During the quarter, Dr. Martens opened 13 new stores across EMEA and APAC which meant it had 235 own stores at the end of the period.
Watch: Microsoft hits $3 trillion market value
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