Blue Shield of California Ends CVS Caremark Partnership, Google's Verily Life Sciences Intensifies Cost-Cutting, Tesla's Autopilot Under Fire Again: Today's Top Stories

Benzinga - by Vandana Singh, Benzinga Editor. Wall Street Journal

Blue Shield of California To Revolutionize Drug Payment System: Ends CVS Caremark Partnership

• Blue Shield of California has decided to discontinue its utilization of CVS Health Inc's (NYSE: CVS) Caremark, the pharmacy-benefit manager responsible for negotiating drug prices and overseeing services like mail-order pharmacy.
• Instead, the nonprofit health plan, which boasts a membership of approximately 4.8 million, is embarking on a partnership with a group of specialized companies. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) will manage at-home drug deliveries.

• Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), the parent company of Google, is ramping up its cost-cutting measures across various ventures.
• Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet unit focusing on data-driven healthcare, plans further expense reductions after reporting higher-than-anticipated losses in 2023.
• Verily laid off more than 200 employees, or about 15% of its workforce, in January.

• Mass media and entertainment conglomerate Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) reportedly has let go of its plan to sell its majority stake in BET Media Group.
• The group includes the VH1 and BET cable networks and BET+ streaming services.
• The move to end the sale comes as Paramount felt it would not harbor any meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet.

Benzinga

OpenAI Acquires Pioneers from Global Illumination Amid Expanding ChatGPT Horizons

• Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) backed OpenAI said on Wednesday it had snapped the team at Global Illumination. The financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.
• Thomas Dimson, Taylor Gordon, and Joey Flynn co-founded Global Illumination.
• The entire team has joined OpenAI to work on its core products, including ChatGPT.

• Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF) announced an expanded partnership with DoorDash (NYSE: DASH) – one of its existing fulfillment partners – to make Petco's assortment of products available nationally via the DoorDash Marketplace.
• Through the DoorDash mobile app and website, pet parents will have greater access to Petco's curated selection of products supporting pets' whole health for on-demand delivery.

• Ball Corp (NYSE: BALL) shares are trading higher by around 5% after the company disclosed a plan to sell its aerospace business.
• The company inked an agreement to sell its aerospace business to BAE Systems for gross proceeds of $5.6 billion in cash.
• The price represents 19.6x Ball Aerospace's LTM comparable EBITDA.
• Ball also plans to boost its share repurchase authorization program and quarterly dividend.

Bloomberg

Tesla's Autopilot Under Fire Again As Engineers Testify To Unfixed Crash Limitations

• Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) reportedly neglected critical limitations in its autopilot system following a deadly crash in 2016, potentially setting the stage for another incident.
• In a lawsuit related to a 2019 crash, Tesla engineers revealed that the company failed to rectify deficiencies in its autopilot functionality even after a similar crash in 2016.
• Engineers testified that the system was not adjusted to account for crossing traffic after the 2016 crash, in which a Tesla Model S driver, Joshua Brown, collided with a truck in Florida, resulting in his death.

CNBC

Ozempic Competitor Wegovy Could Prevent 1.5M Heart Attacks And Strokes Over 10 Years, Study Reveals

• Novo Nordisk A/S's (NYSE: NVO) weight loss injection, Wegovy, could potentially thwart 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes over ten years, according to a recent study.
• Researchers from the University of California, Irvine discovered that Wegovy could also result in 43 million fewer Americans with obesity over the same timeframe. Novo Nordisk partially financed the study.

Reuters

Tyson Foods To Divest China Poultry Business

• Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE: TSN) reportedly plans to sell its China poultry business. The company has hired The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) as an advisor for the divestiture, which is at an early stage.
• It is not clear what valuation Tyson Foods is seeking for China's Poultry business, which saw annual sales of around $1.1 billion.

Earnings

Walmart Q2 Earnings: Smashes Expectations, Strong E-Commerce Growth and Raised Outlook

• Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) reported second-quarter FY24 sales growth of 5.7% year-on-year to $161.10 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $160.27 billion.
• Net sales from Walmart U.S. increased 5.4% Y/Y, Walmart International rose 13.3%, and Sam's Club fell 0.3%.
• Excluding fuel, Walmart's U.S. Q2 comp sales grew 6.4%. eCommerce growth was 24%.
• Global advertising business grew by over 35%.

• Bilibili Inc (NASDAQ: BILI) reported second-quarter FY23 revenue growth of 8% year-on-year to $731.5 million (RMB5.3 billion), beating the consensus of $726.4 million. Adjusted EPS loss of $(0.32) beat the consensus loss of $(0.35).
• Outlook: Bilibili expects FY23 revenues of RMB22.5 billion - RMB23.5 billion (prior RMB24.0 billion - RMB26.0 billion) vs. the consensus of $3.34 billion.

• Tapestry Inc (NYSE: TPR), the New York-based house of lifestyle brands comprising Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman, reported Q4 FY23 sales of $1.62 billion, missing the analyst consensus of $1.65 billion.
• EPS of $0.95 missed the analyst consensus of $0.97.
• Operating margin expanded to 16.9% from 15.3% a year ago, and operating income for the quarter stood at $274 million.
• Outlook: Tapestry expects FY24 EPS of $4.10-$4.15 (+6% to 7% Y/Y) vs. the consensus of $4.23.

• Lenovo Group Ltd (OTC: LNVGY) reported a Q1 FY24 revenue dip of 24% Y/Y to $12.9 billion.
• Quarterly revenue came below the consensus of $13.84 billion.
• EPS decreased to $1.43 from $4.01 a year ago.
• Over the next three years, Lenovo plans to invest a further $1 billion in accelerating AI deployment for businesses globally.

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