Boeing plans to raise $19 billion in stock offering as the aerospace giant deals with a controversial strike, confronts liquidity concerns, and seeks to raise funds.

Boeing Co. announced Monday that it will issue 90 million ordinary stock and $5 billion in depositary shares. The company’s stock finished at $155.01 on Friday.

The business stated that the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, such as debt repayment, working capital expansion, capital expenditures, and finance and investments in its subsidiaries.

Boeing, In Need Of Cash, Looking To Raise Up To Approximately $19B In Offering

Fitch Ratings said on Monday that the sale promotes debt repayment and increases financial flexibility, lowering the likelihood of a downgrade. The agency continued to assess Boeing’s capacity to resolve labor disputes and regain operational momentum. It gives Boeing a “BBB-,” the lowest investment-grade rating.

Last week, Boeing plant workers rejected the company’s latest contract offer and extended a six-week strike that halted production of its best-selling jetliners.

According to local union leaders in Seattle, 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted opposed to accepting the proposal.

The labor impasse comes amid an already difficult year for Boeing, which was the subject of various federal probes when a door panel blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

Boeing, In Need Of Cash, Looking To Raise Up To Approximately $19B In Offering

The walkout has deprived the corporation of much-needed revenue from delivering new planes to airlines. On Wednesday, the business announced a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. Boeing has not had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday’s results were the second-worst quarter in the company’s history.

The corporation burnt roughly $2 billion in cash in the quarter, weakening its balance sheet, burdened with $58 billion in debt. Chief Financial Officer Brian West stated that the company will not achieve positive cash flow until the second part of next year.

Boeing shares fell marginally in noon trade. They’ve lost 40% of their worth so far this year.

SOURCE | AP

Microsoft has dismissed two workers for organizing an unlawful vigil at the company’s headquarters for Palestinians murdered in Gaza during Israel’s conflict with Hamas.

The two employees told The Associated Press they were dismissed by phone late Thursday, several hours after organizing a lunchtime event on Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington.

Both employees were part of the “No Azure for Apartheid” campaign, which protested Microsoft’s sale of cloud computing technology to the Israeli government. However, they claimed Thursday’s gathering was akin to other Microsoft-approved staff giving efforts to those in need.

Microsoft Fires Employees Who Organized Vigil For Palestinians Killed In Gaza

“We have so many community members within Microsoft who have lost family, friends, or loved ones,” said Abdo Mohamed, a data scientist and researcher. “But Microsoft really failed to have the space for us where we can come together and share our grief and honor the memories of people who can no longer speak for themselves.”

Microsoft announced Friday that it has “ended the employment of some individuals in accordance with internal policy,” but declined to elaborate.

Mohamed, who is from Egypt, stated that he needed to find a new job within the next two months to transfer his work visa and prevent his deportation.

Another sacked employee, Hossam Nasr, stated that the objective of the vigil was “to honor the victims of the Palestinian genocide in Gaza and to call attention to Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide” due to the Israeli military’s use of its technology.

Nasr said that the monitoring group Stop Antisemitism had announced his firing on social media more than an hour before he received the contact from Microsoft. The organization did not immediately respond Friday to a request for information on how it heard of the firing.

The same group had urged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella months ago to take action against Nasr for his public statements about Israel.

Microsoft Fires Employees Who Organized Vigil For Palestinians Killed In Gaza

Nasr, a 2021 Harvard University graduate reared in Egypt, is also a co-founder of Harvard Alumni For Palestine.

Earlier this year, Google dismissed more than 50 employees in response to concerns over technology supplied to the Israeli government during the Gaza conflict. The firings resulted from internal strife and sit-in protests at Google offices over “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract in 2021 between Google and Amazon to supply cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government.

Microsoft said in a statement Friday that it is “dedicated to maintaining a professional and respectful work environment.” However, “we are unable to disclose particular facts for privacy and confidentiality reasons.”

SOURCE | AP

(VOR News) – Tesla’s stock continued to rise on Friday, reaching its best close in almost a year, even though analysts and investors continued to laud the electric vehicle company’s third-quarter results.

This happened the day after the stock experienced its biggest increase since 2013. Tesla’s stock rose 2.8% in the early hours of Friday, hitting $267.79. As a result, the stock is poised to reach its highest closing price since September 2023.

The stock is now up about 8% in 2024 after reversing its annual loss due to two days of gains. It still lags behind the Nasdaq, though, which has risen by 24%.

The most recent analysts to raise their price target were those at Piper Sandler, following the release of the earnings report on Wednesday.

The business declared that it was raising its estimation of the 12-month stock price from $310 to $315 “to reflect higher deliveries and higher margins.” Prior to raising the rating, the business had given the stock a buy rating.

Tesla shares rose 22% Thursday, their second-largest gain since its 2010 IPO.

This followed Tesla’s announcement of $25.18 billion in revenue, which was 8 percent higher than the previous year’s data but nearly the same as $25.37 billion experts had predicted.

Tesla announced earnings per share of 72 cents after accounting for inflation, exceeding the average analyst projection of 58 cents.

Tesla’s profit margins increased as a result of $739 million in revenue from environmental regulatory credits. According to a report by JPMorgan Chase analysts, these credits were a “potentially unsustainable driver” of cash flow and earnings throughout the study period.

Another element that improved performance was the company’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system, which generated $326 million in revenue.

Elon Musk, the CEO, said during the earnings call that his “best guess” is that the rise of cars will reach 20% to 30% in the upcoming year. He attributed his prediction to the “adventure of autonomy” and more affordable automobiles. According to the analysts surveyed by FactSet, deliveries would increase by almost 15% in 2025.

However, in terms of autonomy, Musk has consistently fallen short of his own deadlines for product launches, even though he has made every effort. In a report following the release of the company’s earnings, Bernstein analysts noted that Musk had a “long history of being overly optimistic about FSD.”

They said the survey found Tesla “continues to lag well behind competitors” in robot axis production.

During the call, Musk also mentioned that Tesla plans to start producing its Cybercab, which was only recently made available to the general public. The Cybercab is a robot axi without pedals or a steering wheel that has butterfly doors.

In the upcoming year, he stated, Tesla would start providing autonomous ride-hailing services in the states of Texas and California. Without a human driver on hand to steer or brake at any time, the company’s current vehicles are not yet safe to operate.

According to Forbes, Musk’s paper fortune increased by more than $30 billion as a result of the two-day rally, bringing his total net worth to over $274 billion. He is now sixty billion dollars richer than Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is currently the second richest person in the world. Ellison is a personal friend of Musk and a previous member of the Tesla board of directors.

In spite of this, Tesla’s stock is still about 35% below its peak, which was reached in 2021. The corporation went through a challenging time in the first three months of 2024 as deliveries fell from the previous year and buyers shifted to electric vehicles from a number of competitors.

There are still risks associated with competition.

In recent years, a number of Chinese businesses, including BYD and Geely, as well as a new generation of automakers, such as Li Auto and Nio, have seen an increase in sales.

Even though Ford and General Motors have backed out of their earlier promises to electrify their cars, traditional automakers are starting to sell more electric cars in the US

SOURCE: CNBC

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