MU - Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Micron Technology Loss Beats Estimates

2023-06-29 06:33:36 ET

Summary

• Micron Technology's Q3 loss was not as bad as expected, causing its shares to rise by 3.6%.
• TuSimple is considering strategic alternatives for its U.S. business in order to maximize shareholder value.
• Visa is set to acquire cloud-based payment and banking platform Pismo for $1B in cash, allowing it to support and connect with emerging payment platforms. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Listen on the go! Subscribe to Wall Street Breakfast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Micron Technology ( MU ) pops as Q3 loss beats estimates (00:23). TuSimple (TSP) to weigh options for U.S. business (01:49). Visa (V) to buy payment and banking platform Pismo for $1B in cash (02:27).

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.

Premarket Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU ) is up 3.6% after the memory chip maker reported a third-quarter loss that wasn't as bad as feared.

For the period ending June 1, Micron ( MU ) lost an adjusted $1.43 per share as revenue came in at $3.75B. A consensus of analysts expected the company to lose $1.57 per share on $3.68B in revenue.

Additionally, the company said its adjusted gross margin during the period was 16.1%, well above the negative 21.1% that investors were anticipating.

Looking ahead, Micron ( MU ) said it expects to lose between $1.12 and $1.26 per share on an adjusted basis, with revenue forecast to be between $3.7B and $4.1B. It also expects its adjusted gross margin to be between negative 8% and 13%.

Analysts were looking for Micron to lose $1.10 per share on an adjusted basis, with $3.87B in sales.

Micron ( MU ) also pointed out that the recent decision by the Cyberspace Administration of China is a "significant headwind" that is impacting the company's outlook and could slow its recovery.

In addition, Micron ( MU ) said on Wednesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian government to build the semiconductor facility it announced earlier this month.

TuSimple (NASDAQ: TSP ) announced on Wednesday that the board is evaluating strategic alternatives for its U.S. business with a goal of maximizing shareholder value.

The decision to explore strategic alternatives for the U.S. business was said to be guided by a review of multiple business factors and commercial opportunities.

The company says it does not plan to make further public comment regarding these matters until the board has approved a specific transaction, another alternative or otherwise concluded its review of strategic alternatives.

Premarket TuSimple is down 1.7%.

Visa (NYSE: V ) had agreed to acquire Pismo for $1B in cash.

The cloud-based payment and banking platform will also allow Visa ( V ) to offer support and connectivity for emerging payments rails, like Pix, the Central Bank of Brazil's instant payment platform.

The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.

Pismo, which has operations in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe, will keep its current management team.

According to a Bloomberg report earlier this month, Mastercard ( MA ) was also interested in acquiring the company.

Other headlines to look out for on Seeking Alpha:

Morgan Stanley shakes up its global dividend portfolio

All 23 banks pass Federal Reserve's stress test on capital levels

Google, Salesforce-backed AI startup Typeface sees $1B valuation after $100M funding round

Judge in FTC suit to block Activision deal could rule as soon as next week

Why did Carvana jump? Shorts are getting put to the test

On our catalyst watch for the day, AMC Entertainment ( AMC ) and AMC Preferred Equity units ( APE ) will be on watch as a two-day settlement hearing takes place in Delaware's Court of Chancery. Both stocks have swung wildly off developments in the stock conversion case.

And the California Public Utilities Commission will hold a hearing on commercial autonomous vehicles. Alphabet's ( GOOG ) Waymo has applied for the CPUC permit that would allow the company to charge for driverless rides. And General Motors' ( GM ) Cruise applied to expand its fleet and deploy 100 self-driving cars across San Francisco.

Wall Street's major averages fluctuated on Wednesday and ultimately ended mixed.

The Nasdaq ( COMP.IND ) added 0.27%. The S&P 500 ( SP500 ) slipped 0.04% while the Dow ( DJI ) retreated 0.22%.

Of the 11 S&P sectors, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary were among the four gainers, while Tech swung between gains and losses to finally end in the red. Utilities and Materials topped the losers.

Treasury yields were lower. The 10-year yield ( US10Y ) was down 6 basis points to 3.71% while the 2-year yield ( US2Y ) was down 5 basis points to 4.71%.

Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are pointing higher. The Dow is up 0.1%, the S&P 500 is up 0.2% and the Nasdaq is up 0.3%. Crude oil is down 0.3% at more than $69 a barrel. Bitcoin is up 0.3% and is still above 30,000.

In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.2% and the DAX is up 0.02%. Markets in India, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are closed.

On today’s economic calendar, at 830 am GDP Q1 and at 10am pending home sales.

For further details see: