Weekly Stockwatch: Netflix Loses Shows to Disney+, Ford Pushes Further on EVs, Lufthansa Earnings & More
Netflix Loses Shows to Disney+
Disney+ confirmed today that popular Marvel shows will be moving on to Disney's platform later in the month, that were previously on Netflix. These include highly popular shows, such as Daredevil, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and others. [1]
Marvel Entertainment is owned by the Walt Disney Company, which until recently did not have its own streaming platform. But since the launch of Disney+ in late-2019, it has been pushing content from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), both in the form of movies and TV shows.
Along with its Star Wars-themed content, Disney holds the keys to two of the most important franchises in the entertainment industry. It has faced some difficulties in combining theatrical releases with streaming launches, but it seems to be getting better at it.
The firm has also been a bit cautious in adding more grown-up oriented content along with traditional kids shows, but the President of Disney Streaming, Michael Paull, twitted that the "Grown-Up Marvel Shows Coming to Disney Plus With New Parental Controls". [2]
Netflix had disappointed with its subscriber growth guidance for the first quarter of the current year [3], which had caused NFLX.us to plunge, while Disney+ impressed with the addition of 11.8 million paid users in Q1 FY2022 - bringing the total number to 129.8 million as of January 1 2022 [4].
DIS.us and NFLX.us both closed with losses yesterday and were heading towards a negative week.
Ford EV Push
The historic carmaker has been pushing hard on EV under CEO Jim Farley and its Ford+ plan, while this week it announced plans, to further accelerate this transformation.
Ford said it will separate its electric vehicle (EV) and internal combustion businesses, into two distinct units that will be named "Ford Model e" and "Ford Blue" respectively. [5]
Mr Farely commented that "Ford Model e will be Ford's center of innovation and growth", whereas "Ford Blue's mission is to deliver a more profitable and vibrant ICE business".
The highly anticipated F-150 Lightning pickup truck - the electric variant of the best selling F-series – is expected for delivery in a few months, while high demand recently led Ford to announce a production increase. [6]
Also this week, the company released its monthly US Total Sales figures, that showed a 15.1 year-over-year decline, to 129,273 units in February. Sales of electrified vehicles increased 55.3 percent through February. [7]
F.us surged on Wednesday after the EV announcement, but is having a difficult week amidst broader risk aversion.
Nio & XPeng Delivery Updates
This week, the two Chinese EV firms released their delivery figures for February, a period that included the long holidays for the Lunar New Year. Nio delivered 6,131 vehicles, marking a 9.9% year-over-year rise [8], albeit a slowdown from January's 9,652 deliveries.
The ES6s, the company's five-seater high-performance premium SUV ES6s, was on top with 3,309 units.
Last month, Nio received in-principle approval from the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, for a secondary listing there, with trading expected to commence on March 10, 2022. The EV maker will release its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2021, on Thursday, March 24, after the close of the U.S. markets.
XPeng delivered 6,225 units in the same month, registering an impressive 180% increase year-over-year [9], but it too fell short of its 12,922 deliveries in January. The P7 smart sports sedan, was responsible for most of those, with 3,537 units.
The firm also announced partnerships with "two renowned European automobile players for agency retail collaborations in the Netherlands and Sweden".
Sony-Honda EV Collaboration
Electronics giant Sony and carmaker Honda announced today an alliance that outlines their intent to establish a joint venture to develop and sell electric vehicles (EVs). The two parties aim to form a new company within the year and sales of their first model is expected to begin in 2025. [10]
During January's Consumer Electronics Show (CED) in Las Vegas, Sony had unveiled the VISION-S 02 electric SUV, as a new form factor, using the same EV/cloud platform as the prototype (VISION-S 01), which had been presented at CES 2020 and has been tested on public roads. [11]
These days it looks like everyone is trying to get into the EV market, from other technology companies such as Xiaomi, dedicated startups and legacy automakers.
In more traditional Sony territory, the long-awaited Gran Turismo 7 driving simulator was released today. The legendary videogame title is available for Sony's latest PlayStation 5 console, but is also compatible with the previous-generation PlayStation 4.
Lufthansa Earnings
The German airliner released its financial results for 2021 on Thursday, reporting a 24% Revenue rise, compared to the previous year, to €16.811 billion. Its Adjusted Loss (EBIT) narrowed significantly, to €2.349 billion, from a Loss of €5.451 billion in 2020. [12]
The Logistics segment which includes Lufthansa Cargo AG stood out, since it generated Adjusted Earnings (EBIT) of €1.493 billion, nearly doubling from the previous year. The traffic data showed improvement, since Flights increased by 18% and Passengers by 29%, compared to the prior year.
The firm expects further recovery in traffic for 2022, although the Omicron variant will have an adverse effect in Q1. Lufthansa acknowledged uncertainty stemming from the war in Ukraine, noting that its political and economic consequences "could affect our business performance in ways that cannot yet be estimated".
At the time of writing, LHA.de was losing more nearly 20% on the week, as the airline industry is hit by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and ensuing sanctions and higher energy prices.
Next Week (March 07 - 11)
The earnings season draws to end, with a limited number of high profile US companies reporting this week and Electric truck and SUV maker Rivian Automotive standing out. The EV startup, which went public just a few months ago in one of the hottest IPOs of the past year, reports its Q4 2021 results on Thursday.
Chinese retail behemoth JD.com also reports its earnings on Thursday, while a day ahead, on Wednesday, we expect some European firms such as German sports giants Adidas.
Nikos Tzabouras
Senior Financial Editorial Writer
Nikos Tzabouras is a graduate of the Department of International & European Economic Studies at the Athens University of Economics and Business. He has a long time presence at FXCM, as he joined the company in 2011. He has served from multiple positions, but specializes in financial market analysis and commentary.
With his educational background in international relations, he emphasizes not only on Technical Analysis but also in Fundamental Analysis and Geopolitics – which have been having increasing impact on financial markets. He has longtime experience in market analysis and as a host of educational trading courses via online and in-person sessions and conferences.
Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an "as-is" basis, as general market commentary and do not constitute investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and it is therefore not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of dissemination. Although this commentary is not produced by an independent source, FXCM takes all sufficient steps to eliminate or prevent any conflicts of interests arising out of the production and dissemination of this communication. The employees of FXCM commit to acting in the clients' best interests and represent their views without misleading, deceiving, or otherwise impairing the clients' ability to make informed investment decisions. For more information about the FXCM's internal organizational and administrative arrangements for the prevention of conflicts, please refer to the Firms' Managing Conflicts Policy. Please ensure that you read and understand our Full Disclaimer and Liability provision concerning the foregoing Information, which can be accessed here.