AMD, Novo Nordisk, Snap, Walt Disney and Glencore

Shares in AMD took a hit and were about 6% lower in pre-market trading after the US chipmaker reported mixed quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street forecasts for adjusted earnings per share, but beat expectations on revenue.

For its fiscal second quarter, AMD posted net income of $872m, or 54 cents per share, up from $265m, or 16 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue was $7.69bn, stronger than the $7.43bn expected, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) sat at $0.48, compared to estimates of $0.49.

Looking ahead, the company guided for third-quarter revenue of $8.7bn, plus or minus $300m, slightly above consensus estimates of $8.3bn.

Chief executive Lisa Su cited geopolitical headwinds as a drag on its artificial intelligence business, particularly in China where new US rules have curtailed sales of certain chips.

“AI business revenue declined year over year as US export restrictions effectively eliminated MI308 sales to China, and we began transitioning to our next generation,” Su said on a call with analysts.

AMD saw an $800m impact from the Trump administration’s ban on the sale of the company’s MI308 AI chips for China.

AMD is the second-biggest maker of graphics processing units, or GPUs, for artificial intelligence behind Nvidia (NVDA).

Shares of Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant behind Ozempic and Wegovy, fell in pre-market trading and on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange as the company’s outlook remains clouded by weaker-than-expected sales in the US amid increasing competition from copycat drugs.

In its second-quarter report, Novo Nordisk announced a 67% surge in revenues from its weight-loss drug Wegovy, reaching 19.53bn Danish kroner. While this represents strong growth, it fell slightly short of analysts' expectations, which had forecast 20bn Danish kroner, according to a poll by LSEG (LSEG.L).

Overall, the company’s sales rose 13% year-on-year, reaching 76.86bn Danish kroner (£8.96bn/$11.92bn) in the three months to June. This slightly exceeded the 76.6bn Danish kroner analysts had predicted. However, quarterly net profit came in at 26.5bn Danish kroner, just shy of the 26.6bn Danish kroner analysts had expected.

The company has faced competition from generic versions of its GLP-1 drugs, such as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes. Despite US laws that prevent pharmacies from copying approved drugs, regulations around ‘compounding', which allows for customised doses and formulations, have opened the door for competitors to enter the market.

Novo's second-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) reached 33.45 billion Danish kroner, up 29% compared to the same period last year.

Despite the weaker performance in the US, Novo Nordisk reiterated its full-year guidance after cutting its growth forecast last week. The company now expects annual sales growth of 8% to 14% at constant exchange rates, alongside annual operating profit growth of 10% to 16%.

In response to competition from generic alternatives, Novo Nordisk also announced plans to reduce costs and sharpen its commercial focus. This comes after a sharp drop in the company’s stock price last week, extending a prolonged decline since its peak in June 2024.

“We are taking measures to sharpen our commercial execution further, and ensure efficiencies in our cost base while continuing to invest in future growth,” outgoing CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said in a statement.

Shares in Snap sunk by 14% in pre-market trading after the company reported its second-quarter earnings, which revealed that its global average revenue per user (ARPU) missed analysts’ expectations.

Snap’s global ARPU came in at $2.87, slightly below the $2.90 forecast by StreetAccount. ARPU, a key metric indicating how much advertising revenue the company generates per user, fell short despite a 9% year-over-year increase in overall sales. However, the company posted a net loss of $262.6bn, compared to a loss of $248.6bn in the same quarter last year.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for Q2 reached $41bn, missing StreetAccount’s projection of $53bn.

Looking ahead, Snap forecasted third-quarter revenue between $1.475bn and $1.505bn, in line with Wall Street’s expectations of $1.475bn. The company also guided for adjusted EBITDA in Q3 to range between $110bn and $135bn, with a midpoint of $122.5bn, higher than the $116bn projected by analysts.

Snap’s third-quarter global daily active users (DAUs) are expected to total 476 million, in line with the 475.7 million StreetAccount had predicted.

Shares in the entertainment giant are higher in pre-market trading as it prepares to report fiscal third-quarter earnings before the US bell.

The stock got an additional boost from news of a deal with the National Football League (NFL). Under the agreement, the NFL will take a 10% stake in Disney’s ESPN sports empire in exchange for control of key media assets, including the NFL Network.

Neither Disney nor the NFL disclosed the value of the ESPN stake. However, analysts have estimated ESPN’s valuation to be between $25bn and $30bn, placing the NFL’s stake in the range of $2.5bn to $3bn.

As part of the deal, ESPN will add the NFL Network to its portfolio of sports channels and will distribute the NFL’s Red Zone channel to pay-TV operators. However, ownership and digital distribution rights will remain with the NFL.

Wall Street is also monitoring Disney’s streaming, TV, movie, and theme park businesses, seeking updates on their performance during the quarter.

Analysts expect Disney to report earnings per share of $1.47 and revenue of $23.73bn when the company announces its results later on Wednesday.

Shares in Glencore were down by 4% in London as the commodities trader and miner reported first-half profits below expectations.

The Switzerland-based group revealed flat revenues of $117.4bn, which was stronger than forecast, but adjusted EBIT of $1.8bn was down 37%, well short of the $2.56bn that analysts had expected.

Glencore also reported a 14% drop in adjusted profits, which stood at $5.43bn on an EBITDA basis for the first half of the year. The decline was driven by weaker coal prices and reduced copper production.

Gary Nagle, Glencore’s CEO, said: “While there is much uncertainty around the impacts of geopolitics and trade in the shorter term, we remain of the view that, in certain commodities, the scale and pace of required resource development will struggle to meet the demand projections for such materials into the future.

“We are well placed to participate in bridging this gap, through the flexibility embedded in both our marketing and industrial businesses to respond to global needs.”

Analysts had anticipated the miner would report a net profit of around $337m, but impairment charges of $900m related to its Colombian coal operations led to a net loss of $655m, compared to a loss of $233m during the same period last year.

“The headlines of Glencore’s half-year report do not read particularly well,” said Adam Vettese, market analyst for eToro.

“Earnings were clearly pressured, with a 14% drop in adjusted EBITDA and a net loss of $655 million, driven by weaker coal and copper prices and significant impairments, most notably at Cerrejón. Margins are down and copper output underwhelmed, with risks from volatile markets and operational delays still front and centre.”

Glencore also updated shareholders on its plans for a potential alternative listing, concluding that shifting its listing to the US did not make sense.

The company explained: “Of the major global equity exchanges, the scale and depth of US capital markets is unrivalled, but having considered the costs and benefits, including in respect of indexation, we do not believe that becoming a US domestic issuer or having a sponsored ADR program [an American depositary receipt] would be value.”

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