(Bloomberg) -- Shopify Inc. reported first-quarter revenue that topped analysts’ estimates as businesses moved swiftly online during the coronavirus pandemic.Sales grew by 47% to $470 million from the same quarter a year ago, Ottawa-based Shopify said in a statement Wednesday. Analysts had expected about $443 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.“We are working as fast as we can to support our merchants by re-tooling our products to help them adapt to this new reality,” Chief Executive Officer Tobi Lutke said in the quarterly release.The key metric of gross merchandise volume, which represents the value of all goods sold on the platform, increased 46% or $5.5 billion to $17.4 billion from a year earlier. Analysts were expecting a 40% increase on a year-over-year basis to $16.9 billion.Still, Shopify noted the drop in point-of-sale purchases from bricks-and-mortar stores and questioned the sustainability of some of the online switch. The shares fluctuated between...
Billionaire Bill Ackman is growing increasingly optimistic. After warning “hell is coming” back in March, the highly-respected stock picker has started singing a different tune, arguing that the possibility of hydroxychloroquine and antibiotic treatments, the ramping up of antibody tests, government stimulus and low interest rates are encouraging signs.It’s no wonder market watchers track Ackman’s moves religiously. The CEO of investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management was able to take $27 million and turn it into $2.6 billion using a series of credit-default swaps just last February. How does he do it? Before Ackman even thinks about pulling the trigger on an investment, he relies on a comprehensive three-pronged strategy to determine the strength of the opportunity.“The most important thing for us is that the business quality is extremely high. It's got to be what we call a simple, predictable free cash flow generative business,” Ackman explained. The approach also involves...
(Bloomberg) -- A Pacific island nation that’s been demanding a bigger share of its mineral wealth from global resources companies has forced Barrick Gold Corp. to do what a global pandemic could not -- cut its 2020 production guidance.Less than a month after saying its output was secure, the world’s second-largest gold miner said it expects to produce 4.6 million to 5 million ounces of gold this year, lowering its range by 200,000 ounces, after running into conflict with the government of Papua New Guinea.In April, the Toronto-based miner said it would challenge a decision by the PNG government to deny it the right to keep operating the Porgera gold mine, which accounted for about 5% of Barrick’s gold production last year.“We put it on care and maintenance,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said by phone Wednesday following the release of the company’s first-quarter earnings statement. “We were forced to do...
(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell toward $23 a barrel in New York, snapping a run of gains that had seen prices double over five days.The drop reflects persistent concern that the global glut will take a long time to eliminate as demand remains crushed by the coronavirus. Economic data also weighed on prices, with the U.S. losing a record number of jobs in April and the European Union predicting steep contractions across the region.Crude’s collapse has forced countries across the world to rein in oil production. Russian output was down 16% in the first five days of May, Interfax reported, while in the U.S., Plains All American Pipeline LP said it sees close to 1 million barrels a day of Permian shut-ins in May.Though supply is falling, the extent of the damage to the global economy is becoming clearer. The European Commission said Italy, Spain and Greece are all facing contractions of...
A union representing more than 25,000 United Airlines aircraft and passenger service workers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking an injunction against the cuts, alleging the plan violated the terms of government payroll aid....
