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Zoom founder Eric Yuan can look forward to rising share prices.
(dpa) The Corona crisis has catapulted video conferencing provider Zoom out of its niche among the world’s best-known tech companies. Now the times of explosive growth are over for the moment. After an impressive 355 percent increase in sales, Zoom now expects business at the same level for the remainder of the year. This is good enough for investors: the stock soared about 23 percent in after-hours trading. Zoom is worth more than $ 110 billion.
In the second quarter, sales increased year-over-year from just under $ 146 million to $ 663.5 million. It also turns out that Zoom’s initial concerns that rapid growth could put a hole in the coffers due to higher infrastructure costs, among other things, were unfounded. Quarterly earnings increased from $ 5.5 million a year ago to just under $ 186 million.
For the current quarter, Zoom now expects sales between $ 685 million and $ 690 million. For the full year, the company forecast sales of nearly $ 2.4 billion. This already includes the fact that you lose some customers who bought monthly subscriptions in the first quarter, he said.
A basic version of Zoom can be used for free – subscription models are available for business or if additional features are required. The foundation of Zoom’s financial growth is now 370,200 paying customers with more than ten employees. That was 304,000 more than a year ago, with an additional 105,000 in the last quarter alone. These clients typically have annual contracts, while individuals and companies with fewer than ten employees have monthly subscriptions.
The share of these smaller clients in Zoom’s business has risen continuously during the Corona crisis – at the end of last year it was 20 percent, in the first quarter it was 30 percent, and more recently 35 percent. . This could mean that Zoom’s revenue could be subject to greater fluctuations, for example if these customers needed fewer video conferencing after the end of the pandemic.
Zoom was originally intended as an enterprise application. In the Corona crisis, not only home office use increased, but also use by individuals, as well as for sports courses, religious services, or educational offerings. In April, there were up to 300 million participants in daily video conferences, compared to 10 million in December. Experts discovered several security vulnerabilities that the company closed.
Tesla’s stock price goes up and up. CEO Elon Musk’s fortune was just under $ 112 billion as of Monday afternoon, according to Bloomberg.
(dpa / Bloomberg) While the leading US Dow index struggled at the beginning of the week, the Nasdaq technology exchange soared to new heights on Monday. Investors reacted euphorically to the stock split of Nasdaq’s two heavyweights, Apple and Tesla. These are meant to make paper, which has recently risen to very high prices, affordable for bad actors with smaller budgets.
The high-tech Nasdaq 100 rose 0.96% to 12,110.70 points, hitting another all-time high. Tesla shares topped the index, rising 12.6%. As a result of price gains, Tesla boss Elon Musk’s fortune grew to $ 111.9 billion on Monday afternoon, according to Bloomberg. In doing so, he surpassed, at least for the moment, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune was $ 111.2 billion.
Apple topped the leading Dow Jones industrial index with a 3.4% premium. This Monday a division of shares in the group came into force. Shareholders of the iPhone maker get three more for each share. With this step, companies want their stocks to go back to optically cheaper after sharp price increases. Small investors, in particular, avoid stocks that cost several hundred dollars or euros each. So the division was well received by investors.
Shares of Tesla soared 12.6% to nearly $ 500. Here, investors reacted with euphoria to a stock split. The electric carmaker’s announcement of the move three weeks ago was a big price driver: Tesla’s price has since soared around 60% to ever-new record levels. “The announcement of the stock split was another catalyst for the evolution of Tesla’s share price,” said Independent Research analyst Sven Diermeier.
As a result of Apple’s stock split, the weight of stocks in the Dow Jones Index is falling. That’s why another tech title had to close the gap that had arisen: SAP rival and software developer Salesforce has been promoted to the Dow. The Dow Index is intended to map the American economy, which is increasingly shaped by New Economy companies. Shares of Salesforce rose 0.6%.
Dow’s oldest company, the oil giant ExxonMobil, had to drop the index. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the recently merged aviation and defense company Raytheon Technologies also had to leave the Dow. The successors are the biotech group Amgen and the conglomerate Honeywell. Amgen shares lagged and Honeywell shares lost 1.7%.
dba. Nestlé and its subsidiary Nestlé Health Science intend to take over the full acquisition of Aimmune Therapeutics, which is listed on the US technology exchange Nasdaq. The company develops therapies to treat food allergies. Its drug Palforzia is the first and only treatment approved in the United States to reduce the frequency and severity of peanut allergy in children, according to the report. Nestlé already has a 25.6% stake in Aimmune. Now, the company is offering $ 34.50 per share, equivalent to an enterprise value of about $ 2.6 billion (including those already owned by Nestlé).
(awp / sda) Airport service provider Swissport is restructuring its balance sheet and finding new owners. Once the restructuring is complete, seven donors will own 75 percent of the former Swissair subsidiary.
A so-called “department-for-shares swap” is planned in which liabilities are exchanged for company shares, Swissport announced Monday.
The donors are six private equity companies and Barclays Bank. As previously announced, these are providing Swissport with a € 300 million cash injection.
Debt reduction and financing of long-term loans of 500 million euros are also planned. The transaction should be completed by the end of 2020.
The financially troubled Chinese HNA at Swissport is not involved in the transaction. You will lose your majority stake in the company as part of the deal.
(sda / awp) The Lucerne steel producer Schmolz + Bickenbach will be called the Swiss Steel Group in the future. At an extraordinary general meeting, shareholders will also set the course for a new capital increase for the financially troubled group.
Schmolz + Bickenbach is in the process of transformation and is pushing it with full force, the group announced on Monday. It is essential that this is also reflected in the brand and the name of the company.
Schmolz + Bickenbach hopes the new name signals a clear, future-oriented positioning when starting over. The group already runs a production company called Swiss Steel in Emmenbrücke LU. This produces steel for the automotive, machine and appliance industries.
Schmolz + Bickenbach also wants to recover financially. Various options for this purpose are currently being examined, they say. In order to be able to carry out a financing operation quickly and on time, the capital must first be reduced by reducing the face value. The share price is currently below the current par value of CHF 0.30 per share, and it is not legally possible to issue new shares at a lower value.
Therefore, Schmolz + Bickenbach proposes that the shareholders halve the par value of the share to 15 cents and allocate the amount of the par value reduction to the reserves. This action will be compensated to eliminate the deficit and there will be no distribution to shareholders, he said. It is a purely technical step, a transfer within the patrimony that affects all actions equally.
Schmolz + Bickenbach intends to provide more details about the transaction at a later date in the invitation to the extraordinary general meeting. It is not yet known when this will occur.
(awp / sda) The Bühler industrial company in eastern Switzerland announces the resignation of Ruth Metzler-Arnold from the Board of Directors. The former Federal Councilor was elected to the commission at the end of 2011.
She will resign at the February 2021 ordinary general meeting, as Bühler announced on Monday. Last week Bühler Group CEO Stefan Scheiber was elected to the committee at an extraordinary general meeting.
Scheiber started his career at Bühler in 1986 and has been with the company for more than 30 years. Since 1988 he has worked in various management positions in the group, including in Eastern and Southern Africa, Eastern Europe and Germany.
He was appointed CEO of the Bühler Group in 2016. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Kistler Group and a member of the Swissmem Executive Committee.
(Bloomberg) Credit Suisse Group AG wants to double the number of its employees in China in five years. This was announced by the bank’s director for Asia, Helman Sitohang, in an interview with Bloomberg News. The focus is particularly on expanding the investment banking and consulting business for wealthy Chinese.
“With regard to the increase in the number of employees and the growth of infrastructure, China, compared to all other countries in the world, is in the spotlight,” Sitohang said. The bank wants to double the country’s income. Asia’s largest economy is home to the most millionaires after the United States.
At the end of last year, Credit Suisse’s securities division had 154 employees in the People’s Republic. The bank also offers a variety of other services in China, from financing to wealth management.
The greatest tensions from the Covid crisis in Asia have already been overcome, according to Sitohang. According to informed sources, Credit Suisse intends to increase Asia’s share of the group’s earnings to 25% in a few years, from the current 17.5%.
