Huawei, the Chinese smartphone giant, posted blowout results. Phones shipped in the first half spiked 21% to 73 million. Huawei controls a large part of the Chinese market, which is among the reasons Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has had such trouble in what it calls the “Greater China” region.
Volkswagen, the largest car company in Europe, posted impressive results. The manufacturer reported:
The Volkswagen Group remains in robust shape: The first six months of the current fiscal year have delivered a solid set of results, accompanied by further progress in implementing the future program “TOGETHER – Strategy 2025”. Between the beginning of January and the end of June, Group sales revenue rose by 7.3 percent to EUR 115.9 billion. During that period, operating profit increased to EUR 8.9 billion (from 7.5 in the previous year) and operating return on sales grew to 7.7 percent (from the prior-year 7.0 percent). All prior-year figures exclude the special items at that time. For Frank Witter, Member of the Board of Management, responsible for Finance and Controlling, the result of the first six months was a “good team performance” in the face of persistently difficult conditions. “The results were boosted by growth in unit sales. Increases in the first half-year were seen primarily in Europe, but also in North and South America, which is particularly encouraging. The successful placement of a hybrid bond also had a positive effect on net liquidity in the Automotive Division and underlined the confidence investors place in our strategy. I am firmly convinced that our financial footing is adequate to cope with the transformation in the automotive industry and topics of the future.”
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Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) rival Airbus posted weak earnings, just after Boeing posted strong ones. Second-quarter profits at the Europe-based company fell 36% on lower delivery of airplanes.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will hold a series of jobs fairs during which its plans to hire 50,000 Americans.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) profits rose an amazing 71% to $3.89 billion in the most recent quarter as its dominance of the online ad market grew. The top line was up 47% to $9.16 billion. The numbers will fan the flames of worry that Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google have come to control the online ad market at the expense of the balance of the industry.
According to Bloomberg, Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) will offer $12 billion to buy Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: SNI), which would combine two large cable programmers. Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB), which was another bidder, dropped out.
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