Before the bell: strong reports

China’s economy performed slightly better than expected last quarter. Netflix delivered excellent results, and two Belgian listed companies made announcements this morning.

On Wall Street, the day ended with neither gains nor losses. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed unchanged. However, some stocks did move, which is inevitable during earnings season. Insurer Travelers (+9%) and chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor (+9.8%) were rewarded for their outstanding quarterly results. In Europe, stock markets turned green on the day the European Central Bank cut interest rates once again. Schneider Electric (+3.7%) and Airbus (+3.9%) were popular with investors. The Bel20 index rose by 0.6%, thanks to gains by heavyweight UCB (+3.2%). Outside the index, Atenor (-3.7%) and Barco (-4.4%) declined.

Today, investors are focusing on China. The Chinese economy grew by 4.6% in the past quarter, slightly more than expected. However, there is no sense of euphoria. The Hang Seng Index rose by 1.2% this morning, but mainland Chinese markets gained only 0.8%. More stimulus is still needed. In Japan, the market posted a small gain of 0.3% this morning. Today, real estate group WDP and truck manufacturer Volvo will release their results. In the U.S., American Express and Procter & Gamble are set to reveal their quarterly earnings.

News from Belgium

This morning, two Belgian listed companies issued press releases. What’s Cooking (formerly Ter Beke) announced that it had reached an agreement to sell its deli meats division to investor Aurelius. The division accounts for more than half of the company’s revenue (€464 million of €832 million) and will bring in around €100 million by early next year.

Logistics real estate specialist WDP reported an 8% increase in results for the past quarter. Its occupancy rate remains stable at 97.8%. So far this year, the group has invested €600 million with an average return of 7%. WDP reaffirmed its forecast for this year’s earnings, expecting a profit of €1.47 per share, which is 5% more than last year.

Five million new customers

“Two million customers, you have to earn that every day” was a slogan created in 1989 by the Belgian supermarket chain GB. Back then, two million customers seemed like a lot. But last night, Netflix announced that in just the past three months, it had gained five million new customers. Netflix now has 281.7 million paying subscribers—not bad for a streaming company that started out mailing DVDs. More and more people are switching from traditional TV to streaming, allowing them to choose what to watch and when, with or without ads. Netflix’s success is no surprise, and the stock is expected to rise by 5% when Wall Street opens today.

Did you know…

that Netflix was only founded in 1997 and made its very first net profit in the third quarter of 2003? That profit was $1.3 million. In the third quarter of 2024, Netflix’s profit reached $2.36 billion, a 41% increase from the same quarter last year.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.