Latest news with #MichaelAshleySchulman
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Netflix shares fall as weak U.S. dollar-driven forecast fails to impress
Netflix shares declined more than four per cent on Friday as some investors were disappointed by a revenue forecast that was driven more by a weaker dollar than strong demand for the streamer's content. Expectations were running high for the streaming giant, after its shares nearly doubled in value in the past year and viewers binged on content such as the final season of South Korean survival drama 'Squid Game' in the second quarter. But executives said much of the increase in the annual forecast was driven by weakness in the U.S. dollar, now predicting revenue of between US$44.8 billion and $45.2 billion, up from $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion previously. 'When your shares are already binge-watched to perfection, the earnings beat needed to be stronger to satisfy expectations,' said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. 'Instead, some sold on the good news and maybe questioned whether the positive FX effect will be there a few quarters down the road.' A crackdown on password-sharing, more sports content and its ad-supported tier helped Netflix draw tens of millions of new viewers in 2024. But the company stopped reporting subscriber numbers earlier this year, shifting focus to metrics like revenue and profit, a move that has raised concerns about growth. The streaming giant, whose $517-billion market value is more than the combined worth of Disney, Comcast and Warner Bros Discovery, posted quarterly earnings per share of $7.19, beating estimates of $7.08, according to data compiled by LSEG. 'A strong content slate in the second half of the year and growing traction for its advertising efforts could help support continued revenue gains in the third quarter and beyond,' said Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. At least 16 analysts raised their price targets on the stock following the results, bringing the median target to $1,385, as per data compiled by LSEG. (Reporting by Joel Jose, Siddarth S and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Netflix shares fall as weak dollar-driven forecast fails to impress
July 18 (Reuters) - Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab shares declined more than 4% on Friday as some investors were disappointed by a revenue forecast that was driven more by a weaker dollar than strong demand for the streamer's content. Expectations were running high for the streaming giant, after its shares nearly doubled in value in the past year and viewers binged on content such as the final season of South Korean survival drama "Squid Game" in the second quarter. But executives said much of the increase in the annual forecast was driven by weakness in the U.S. dollar, now predicting revenue of between $44.8 billion and $45.2 billion, up from $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion previously. "When your shares are already binge-watched to perfection, the earnings beat needed to be stronger to satisfy expectations," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. "Instead, some sold on the good news and maybe questioned whether the positive FX effect will be there a few quarters down the road." A crackdown on password-sharing, more sports content and its ad-supported tier helped Netflix draw tens of millions of new viewers in 2024. But the company stopped reporting subscriber numbers earlier this year, shifting focus to metrics like revenue and profit, a move that has raised concerns about growth. The streaming giant, whose $517-billion market value is more than the combined worth of Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab, Comcast (CMCSA.O), opens new tab and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab, posted quarterly earnings per share of $7.19, beating estimates of $7.08, according to data compiled by LSEG. "A strong content slate in the second half of the year and growing traction for its advertising efforts could help support continued revenue gains in the third quarter and beyond," said Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. At least 16 analysts raised their price targets on the stock following the results, bringing the median target to $1,385, as per data compiled by LSEG.
CNA
5 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Netflix shares fall as weak dollar-driven forecast fails to impress
Netflix shares declined more than 4 per cent on Friday as some investors were disappointed by a revenue forecast that was driven more by a weaker dollar than strong demand for the streamer's content. Expectations were running high for the streaming giant, after its shares nearly doubled in value in the past year and viewers binged on content such as the final season of South Korean survival drama "Squid Game" in the second quarter. But executives said much of the increase in the annual forecast was driven by weakness in the U.S. dollar, now predicting revenue of between $44.8 billion and $45.2 billion, up from $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion previously. "When your shares are already binge-watched to perfection, the earnings beat needed to be stronger to satisfy expectations," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. "Instead, some sold on the good news and maybe questioned whether the positive FX effect will be there a few quarters down the road." A crackdown on password-sharing, more sports content and its ad-supported tier helped Netflix draw tens of millions of new viewers in 2024. But the company stopped reporting subscriber numbers earlier this year, shifting focus to metrics like revenue and profit, a move that has raised concerns about growth. The streaming giant, whose $517-billion market value is more than the combined worth of Disney, Comcast and Warner Bros Discovery, posted quarterly earnings per share of $7.19, beating estimates of $7.08, according to data compiled by LSEG. "A strong content slate in the second half of the year and growing traction for its advertising efforts could help support continued revenue gains in the third quarter and beyond," said Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.
Reuters
09-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Equipment maintenance startup MaintainX valued at $2.5 billion in latest fundraise
July 9 (Reuters) - MaintainX more than doubled its valuation to $2.5 billion in its latest fundraising round, the equipment maintenance startup said on Wednesday, as startups that combine artificial intelligence with physical operations continue to attract investor interest. The company raised $150 million in the 'Series D' round, bringing its total external funding to $254 million, following a trend among mature startups to remain private-for-longer amid choppy IPO market conditions. Its previous funding round in December 2023 had valued the company at $1 billion. While AI startups still attract most venture capital funding, investors are now also looking for sector-specific tools that help companies boost efficiency by cutting downtime and labor costs. Last month, enterprise AI search startup Glean also raised $150 million at a $7.2 billion valuation in its third capital raise in less than two years. "The common thread is that investors want AI tied to mission-critical enterprise and industrial workflows," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors. MaintainX, founded in 2018, provides a cloud-based maintenance and operations platform that helps automate day-to-day tasks like inspections and safety procedures. The company claims its customers have reduced unplanned downtime by 34% and saved 32% in monthly maintenance costs. The new capital will be used to develop MaintainX's AI and machine health monitoring capabilities, aiming to replace a widely used manual approach. The San Francisco, California-based company serves over 11,000 companies worldwide, including McDonald's (MCD.N), opens new tab, Anheuser-Busch InBev ( opens new tab and Dutch Bros Coffee (BROS.N), opens new tab . The round saw participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Bain Capital, who have also led previous funding for the company. Early backers Amity Ventures and August Capital also participated.
Canada Standard
09-07-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
FedEx, UPS step up as Canada Post loses market share in strikes
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to fill the gap. UPS, FedEx, and other private parcel carriers are busy cornering a bigger share of the nearly US$17 billion Canadian delivery market, while government-owned Canada Post copes with labor turmoil. Canada Post, the country's primary postal service, has been plagued by labor disruptions since last year, including during the peak holiday season as workers went on strike over pay. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), which represents Canada Post delivery personnel, initiated a nationwide overtime ban in May after contract negotiations failed. The repeated disruptions have prompted small businesses to turn to rivals and private carriers for timely deliveries, even if they are more expensive. "For retailers who can't afford to roll the dice on labor peace, their T-shirts and iPhone cases hop over to brown or purple vans (UPS/FedEx) at the first whiff of trouble," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at wealth management company Running Point Capital. Parcel giant FedEx told Reuters it expects "the circumstances at Canada Post may trigger an increase in demand for FedEx services." To handle the additional demand, the company may offer special rates, add delivery vehicles, rework routes, reallocate resources, and open temporary sorting centers. UPS declined to divulge its plans to boost capacity. Calgary-based Lisa Graham, who runs a small e-commerce business called YYC Beeswax, told Reuters her business relied heavily on Canada Post's affordable small-package rates for domestic shipments. However, after the business suffered some losses during last year's holiday season strikes, Graham turned to UPS and FedEx to keep deliveries running, and enlisted local courier services to supply domestic customers, who make up 70 percent of her sales. "Anything that's going to take over two days, we are spending extra to ship with them (private courier services)." Last year's strikes cost small and medium-sized businesses over $1 billion in lost sales, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said. Michael Cox, who imports Irish sweaters, textiles, jewelry, and other goods from the UK to his Ottawa-based shop, said he had to halt business during last year's strikes, as Canada Post was its sole logistics provider, causing significant losses. The Canadian courier, express, and parcel market is valued at $16.74 billion and could hit $21.55 billion by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence. "The impact of the ongoing uncertainty, including last year's strikes, has been significant on our business," a Canada Post spokesperson said. "Since the union restarted their strike action in May 2025, once the collective agreements expired, we have lost almost 60 percent of our business." Canada Post's market share plunged to 26.7 percent in 2024 from 62 percent in 2019, according to the company's annual report, despite a post-pandemic e-commerce boom in deliveries. It lost $208 million due to last year's 32-day strike. "If CUPW's contract slug-fest drags on, Canada Post's share could drop into the teens by December 2026," Schulman added.
