Samsung suffers from "big business disease" and technicians jump ship to competitors. Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment in G42, a UAE-based AI technology company. Fujifilm and Konica Minolta are considering integrating their office equipment businesses. International Paper acquires DS Smith for $7.2 billion. Ericsson, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon, UnitedHealth Group Group announced results. Samsung Electronics, once a giant in the electronics industry with its decision-making skills and hard-working corporate culture, is now looking at Apple and TSMC from behind. Samsung's stagnation also seems to reflect the current state of South Korea's economy. In the competition for promotion, directors are looking for short-term results, and there is a lack of culture to make front-line technicians calm down and challenge R&D. Samsung is also suffering from the "big business disease". Some engineers abandoned Samsung and switched to a competitor, SK hynix. Samsung's elites gathered, too afraid of failure, and Samsung, which misjudged the AI boom, has been shaken internally, and the former memory king is no longer calm.
Samsung Electronics will produce the latest generation of semiconductors in the U.S. two years earlier than rival TSMC, further boosting U.S. President Joe Biden's efforts to bring advanced chip production to U.S. soil. The South Korean chipmaker will produce 2-nanometer microchips at a new fab under construction in Taylor, Texas. This will be part of a $40 billion investment that will include microprocessor manufacturing, advanced chip packaging and research and development.
Kioxia Holdings plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as early as October, though some executives want to restart merger talks with Western Digital. The NAND flash memory pioneer is prioritizing a separate listing to capitalize on the surge in domestic chip-related stocks. Kioxia may reconsider its deal with Western Digital after the IPO. Last year, merger talks between Kioxia and Western Digital broke down, in part because of opposition from SK hynix. SK hynix, an indirect shareholder of Kioxia, said the deal undervalued its stake.
According to data released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales in February 2024 increased by 16.3% year-on-year to $46.17 billion. The increase is the highest since May 2022, with a record one year and nine months. The inventory adjustment in the supply chain has come to an end, and semiconductor demand is recovering. By region, sales in the Americas decreased by 3.9% from the previous month to $12.14 billion. Europe fell 2.3% from the previous month to $4.32 billion. Japan fell 2.5% from the previous month to $3.57 billion. China fell 4.3 percent from the previous month to $14.13 billion.
Microsoft will make a $1.5 billion strategic investment in G42, an artificial intelligence (AI) technology company based in the United Arab Emirates. This investment will strengthen the collaboration between the two companies to bring the latest Microsoft AI technology and skills initiatives to the UAE and other countries around the world. As part of the collaboration, Microsoft President Brad Smith will join the G42 board.
Demis Hassabis, chief executive of DeepMind, Google's AI research arm, said Google will spend more than $100 billion over time to develop AI technology. He also said that Google has more computing power than competitors such as Microsoft.
Japan's Fujifilm Holdings and Konica Minolta announced on April 15 that they will start discussions on business cooperation for office equipment such as multi-function PCs and printers. Discussions will be held on the integration of parts procurement departments for office equipment. First of all, we will discuss the establishment of a joint venture between Fujifilm Business Innovation (formerly Fuji Xerox), a subsidiary of Fujifilm, and Konica Minolta, by September. The new company will have the ability to procure parts for office equipment from all over the world. Fujifilm Business Innovation will hold a majority stake in the new company.
Honda China announced on November 16 that it has launched a new line of electric vehicles (EVs) in the Chinese market, and has adopted a new "H" logo in an effort to expand the market. Honda's EV strategic car series is branded as "Ye", which means "bright and shining". On the 16th, three models of the P7 and S7 and the flagship concept car were unveiled for the first time in Beijing. Honda has already launched other EVs, and Ye will be a new EV brand for the Chinese market. The brand will also appear at the Beijing International Automobile Exhibition, which opens on the 25th. The P7 and S7 are scheduled to be released at the end of 2024 or later. Including the production version of the concept car to be launched in 2025, the number of Ye" brand models will increase to six by 2027.
Drew Baglino, a senior vice president at Tesla for 18 years, posted on X that he had made the difficult decision to leave Tesla. Baglino is one of only four executives listed on Tesla's website, and as head of the powertrain and energy engineering division, he often appears alongside Musk on projects such as Tesla making its own batteries. Rohan Patel, another 42-year-old executive in charge of policy and business development, also said goodbye to colleagues on Monday. In his reply, Musk thanked him for everything he has done for Tesla.
U.S. BEV sales decelerated further in the first quarter, while gasoline-electric hybrid purchases remained strong. Industry data shows that hybrid vehicle sales rose 43% between January and March, while battery electric vehicle sales flattened, rising just 2.7% in the quarter. One reason for the sluggish EV sales is the weak sales figures of Tesla, which accounts for about half of the EV market in the United States. In recent years, many car companies have launched new pure electric models to meet the enthusiasm of consumers and Wall Street, rather than emphasizing hybrid vehicles. Now, more and more buyers are choosing hybrid cars because it is fuel-efficient and can avoid some of the troubles of pure electric vehicles.
Exyte, a high-tech facility design, engineering and delivery company, has announced plans to acquire Kinetics Group, a provider of installation services, equipment and technical facility management. Exyte has entered into an agreement with investment firm Quadriga Capital to acquire the transaction, and the details of the transaction and purchase price will be kept confidential. Kinetics specializes in providing solutions to the biopharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, serving technology and market leaders with global operations. Kinetics operates in more than 20 locations in Asia, Europe and North America, providing engineering, manufacturing and service. In 2023, it achieved revenues of more than 500 million euros.
One of the five major shareholders of the embattled Covid vaccine maker Novavax has called for an "urgent reshuffle" of the board and an overhaul of its sales strategy. The company's share price has fallen 99% from the peak of the pandemic. U.S. hedge fund Shah Capital sent a letter to Novavax's board of directors on Monday asking for the appointment of two new independent directors. The fund also wants the biotech company to adjust its marketing strategy for its Covid vaccines based on traditional vaccine technology to target older adults who are uncomfortable with the rare side effects of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines.
International Paper said on Tuesday that it had agreed to buy DS Smith, a British paper and packaging company, at a valuation of 5.8 billion pounds ($7.20 billion). Upon completion of the merger, DS Smith shareholders will own approximately 33.7% of the combined company, with International Paper shareholders owning the remainder, and the company plans to seek a secondary listing in London. DS Smith said it would advise shareholders to support the deal with International Paper, adding that it had recently received merger proposals from International Paper and Mondy, but that International Paper could now provide a firm offer.
Coach's parent company Tapestry's $8.5 billion acquisition of Michael Kors' parent company, Capri Holdings, has received regulatory approvals in the European Union and Japan. The merger, which will bring top luxury brands such as Capri's Jimmy Choo and Versace under the umbrella of Tapestry, is still awaiting approval from US regulators. The two companies are cooperating with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements, and the transaction is still on track to close in 2024.
Financial Reporting Information
Ericsson announces results for the first quarter of 2024. Net sales for the quarter were SEK 53.33 billion, down 15% year-on-year. Quarterly EBITA was SEK 4,893 million, up 27% year-on-year.
Biopharmaceutical company Boehringer-Ingelheim announced its full-year 2023 results. For the full year 2023, Group sales increased by 9.7% year-on-year to EUR 25.6 billion. Among them, the total sales revenue of human drugs was 20.8 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%. Sales of the animal health business amounted to 4.7 billion euros, up 6.9 percent year-on-year. R&D investment for the year increased by 14.2% year-on-year to EUR 5.8 billion, with R&D investment accounting for 22.5% of sales revenue.
Johnson & Johnson (Johnson & Johnson) announces financial results for the first quarter of 2024. Quarterly sales were $21,383 million, compared to $20,894 million in the same period last year, an increase of 2.3% year-over-year. Net income was $5,354 million, compared to a net loss of $491 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income was $6.58 billion, compared to $6.34 billion in the year-ago quarter. Among them, the sales of innovative pharmaceutical business were 13.562 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%. Medtech sales were $7.821 billion, up 4.5% year-on-year.
Bank of America announces first-quarter 2024 results. Total revenue after interest expense for the quarter was $25,818 million, compared to $26,258 million in the year-ago quarter. Among them, net interest income was 14.032 billion US dollars. Net income attributable to common shareholders for the quarter was $6,142 million, compared to $7,656 million in the same period last year.
Morgan Stanley announces first-quarter 2024 results. Net revenue for the quarter was $15,136 million, compared to $14,517 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to the Company for the quarter was $3.412 billion, compared to $2.98 billion in the year-ago quarter. Trading revenue was $5.33 billion, while Wealth generated $6.88 billion.
BNY Mellon announced its first-quarter 2024 results. Total revenue for the quarter was $4,527 million, compared to $4,415 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to the Company's common shareholders for the quarter was $953 million, compared to $911 million in the year-ago quarter.
UnitedHealth Group announces financial results for the first quarter of 2024. Quarterly revenue was $99.8 billion, up 8.6% year-over-year. Optum's quarterly revenue was $61.1 billion, up from $54.1 billion in the same period last year. UnitedHealthcare's quarterly revenue was $75.4 billion, up from $70.5 billion a year earlier.
Yesterday's audio replay:
Recommend a global TMT industry information account
![Office equipment[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)