STOCK MARKET NEWS: PayPal announces changes, Airbnb stock buyback, Uber

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

PayPal shares are surging in after hours trading. The online payments company has entered an information sharing agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management to evaluate capital return alternatives.

"As one of PayPal's largest investors, with an approximately $2 billion investment, Elliott strongly believes in the value proposition at PayPal,” the company said.

PayPal also appointed Blake Jorgensen as chief financial officer. Additionally, chief product officer Mark Britto will retire at year end. A search is underway for his successor.

"Today's announcement highlights a number of steps that have been underway and are being initiated to help realize the significant value opportunity at the company,” PayPal said.

The company expects to generate savings of at least $1.3 billion in fiscal 2023 through a comprehensive operational review to identify substantial efficiency opportunities and growth initiatives.

PayPal reported net revenues of $6.8 billion, up 9% year over year in the second quarter and a net loss of $341 million, or 29 cents per diluted share. Last year, the company recorded net income of $1.18 billion, or $1.00 per diluted share.

Starbucks barista

Starbucks net revenue rose 8.7% to $8.15 billion in the fiscal third quarter ending July 3, with international sales dragging down growth. Wall Street was expecting net revenue of $8.11 billion.

North America comparable store sales increased 9%, but international comp sales fell 18%, led by a 44% decrease in China on COVID-19 restrictions. China comprises 61% of Starbuck’s global portfolio, with 5,761 stores.

Profit fell 20.9% to $912.9 million, or 79 center per share. Last year, Starbucks reported $1.15 billion of profit, or 97 cents per share.

Holiday villa with pool and terrace

The vacation rental company reported revenue of $2.1 billion in the second quarter, up 58% year over year and 73% higher than Q2 2019. The number was line with Wall Street estimates.

Airbnb expects third quarter revenue of $2.78 billion to $2.88 billion, higher than analysts' estimates of $2.77 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES.

The company booked net income of $379 million, the largest second quarter profit ever. Last year, the company sustained a $68 million loss.

Nights and experiences booked topped 103 million, the largest quarter ever. For the current quarter, Airbnb sees year-over-year growth to be stable with the year-over-year growth in Q2 2022.

The company also announced it will repurchase up to $2 billion of its shares.

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Caterpillar machines at a factory in Gosselies, February 28, 2013.

Caterpillar opened lower in trading Tuesday after missing Wall Street revenue estimates.

The heavy equipment maker reported second quarter sales of $14.25 billion, up 11% year over year, but lower than Wall Street’s estimates of $14.35 billion.

Adjusted profit topped estimates, coming in at $1.7 billion, or $3.18 per share. Analysts were expecting profit of $3.01 per share. Profit last year was $1.44 billion, or $2.60 per share.

The company expects third quarter sales to increase from higher sales to users and price realization.

Intel logo

Intel is planning to issue green bonds to finance projects including green buildings, energy efficiency, waste management and water stewardship. Teams responsible for managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) will pick the projects.

The bonds are part of a larger issue, which may include the refinancing of $400 million of existing 4.1% bonds that mature in 2023.The semiconductor manufacturer has not announced the size of the total bond offering.

Moody’s has an ‘A1’ investment grade rating on the company, which a negative outlook. The credit agency said the outlook reflects Intel’s ongoing challenges to consistently execute on its manufacturing and product development in the face of a weakening macro environment, strong competitive challenges, and supply chain disruptions.

Standard & Poor’s rates Intel ‘A+’, investment grade, also with a negative outlook.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan gives his take on consumer spending amid record high inflation.

Hiring signage

The Department of Labor is expected to report there are 11.0 million job openings available through the end of June. That's just shy of the 11.254 million in May, and down a third month from a record 11.855 million in March.

The number of jobs that need to be filled is nearly double the 5.91 million looking for work with the job market historically tight making hiring/retaining talent a challenge for employers.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi

Uber shares popped 10% on Tuesday after the company reported its second-quarter results.

Revenue in the quarter more than doubled to $8.1 billion, beating analyst expectations of $7.39 billion.

“Last quarter I challenged our team to meet our profitability commitments even faster than planned—and they delivered,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin were all trading lower overnight and into early Tuesday morning. (Getty Images)

Cryptocurrency prices were lower early Tuesday.

At approximately 5 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was trading at nearly $22,825 (-1.99%), or lower by more than $462.75.

For the week, Bitcoin was trading higher by nearly 9.2%. For the month, the cryptocurrency was higher, gaining more than 20%.

Ethereum was trading at approximately $1,575(-3.07%), or lower by about $50.

For the week, Ethereum was trading higher by about 13%. For the month, it was trading higher by more than 52%.

Dogecoin was trading at 0.066 (-3.54%), or lower by approximately $0.00242. 

For the week, Dogecoin was higher by nearly 9.75%. For the month, the crypto was higher by more than 2.5%.

The CEOs of tech giants Alphabet and Meta Platform told employees they need to step things up at the companies.

The chief executives of Alphabet and Meta Platforms, the parent companies of Google and Facebook and major heavy hitters in the tech world, are warning under-performing employees to step it up, drawing concern for potential layoffs amid the continued economic downturn. 

The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, raising fears about an economic recession.

Consecutive quarters of falling gross domestic product (GDP) constitute one traditional measure, though not definitive, of a recession. 

"Any time there is a recession or warning of a recession, companies start looking inward and saying, how can we get ahead of this?" Julie Bauke, founder and chief career strategist with The Bauke Group, told FOX Business.  

Bauke is one of many industry experts who told FOX Business that these warnings are indicators of a softening job market — including layoffs. 

Following a disappointing fiscal quarter, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai both told staffers they have productivity concerns and are "turning up the heat" on managing staff performance. 

According to audio obtained by Reuters, Zuckerberg, whose company suffered its first revenue decline in history, told staffers last week that his hope is to raise expectations and have more aggressive goals. 

"Just kind of turning up the heat a little bit," Zuckerberg was quoted as saying. "I think some of you might decide that this place isn't for you, and that self-selection is OK with me." 

Meanwhile, Pichai issued similar concerns. Pichai reportedly told staffers last week that there are "real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the head count we have." The comments were first reported by CNBC. 

Google’s revenue growth during the past quarter decelerated to its slowest pace in two years as advertisers reined in their spending amid intensifying fears of an economic recession.

Second quarter revenue rose 13% this year compared to 62% in last year's comparable quarter.

These notices are signals of potential layoffs, which could lead to greater unemployment, fewer available jobs, lower wage growth and fewer job opportunities at startups, according to economist and Thru the Cycle President John Lonski.

Gasoline and diesel prices fell off incrementally early Tuesday morning, continuing a trend that began after gas reached an all-time high on June 14 at $5.016 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline slipped Tuesday morning to $4.212, according to AAA. 

Gas prices nationwide on Monday were $4.22. On Sunday, gas prices nationwide were $4.232. 

Prices have been on the decline since hitting a high of $5.016 on June 14. 

Last week, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was $4.355. One month ago, that same gallon of gasoline cost $4.842. One year ago, a gallon of gasoline was $3.173 according to AAA. 

Diesel prices dropped early Tuesday to $5.279. On Monday, a gallon of diesel cost $5.291. 

A week ago, a gallon of diesel sold for $5.412. A month ago, that same gallon of diesel cost $5.76. One year ago, a gallon of diesel cost $3.284, AAA reported.

U.S. stocks were edging lower after losing ground on Monday. (Associated Press)

U.S. stocks futures were trading lower early Tuesday morning .

On Monday, stocks gave up early gains and closed slightly lower Monday as investors began another busy week of company earnings and economic reports.

Major indexes spent much of Monday's session flitting between gains and losses before falling in the afternoon.

The S&P 500 fell 11.66 points, or 0.3%, to 4118.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 46.73 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 32798.40. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index lost 21.71, or 0.2%, to 12368.98. 

U.S. stocks mounted a furious recovery in recent weeks, boosted by positive signals from earnings and expectations that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates as aggressively as once thought, spurring a rally in government bonds alongside stocks. 

August’s subdued opening follows a solid rally for stocks last month: July was the best month for the S&P 500 index since November 2020.

But this week's array of economic reports and company earnings has left traders “a little cautious,” said Lindsey Bell, chief markets and money strategist at Ally Invest. 

"Investors are still assessing where we break from here – further to the upside or reverse course,” Bell said. 

The benchmark S&P 500 index fell 11.66 points to 4,118.63. It's coming off a 9.1% gain in July, but remains down 13.6% for the year. 

The Dow lost 46.73 points to close at 32,798.40, while the Nasdaq slid 21.71 points to 12,368.98. The Russell 2000 ended down 1.92 points at 1,883.31. 

Banks, health care companies and tech stocks were among the biggest weights on the S&P 500.

JPMorgan Chase fell 1%, UnitedHealth Group dropped 1.3% and Intuit slid 1.7%. 

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were lower on Tuesday.

Japan's Nikkei slid 1.54%, while Taiwan's stock index dropped 1.87%. Chinese blue chips tumbled 2.47% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.71%.

Australian stocks pared declines and the Aussie dollar weakened after the central bank raised the key rate by an as-expected 50 basis points, with markets interpreting changes to the accompanying policy statement as dovish. 

"We knew from the onset that (Pelosi's trip) would be a driver of risk-off sentiment in the region," said Carlos Casanova, the senior Asia economist at Union Bancaire Privee in Hong Kong.

Oil prices headed lower Tuesday as recessionary concerns were heightened. (Getty Images)

Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday as investors absorbed a bleak outlook for fuel demand with data pointing to a global manufacturing downturn just as major crude producers meet this week to determine whether to increase supply. 

Brent crude futures dropped 24 cents, or 0.2%, to $99.82 a barrel by 0634 GMT, while WTI crude futures eased 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $93.78 a barrel. 

The slide came after Brent futures slumped on Monday to a session low of $99.09 a barrel, their lowest since July 15.

The U.S. crude benchmark dropped to as low as $92.42 a barrel, its weakest since July 14. 

“Crude prices tumbled after a wealth of factory activity data suggested the world is headed towards a giant global economic contraction, and on expectations for more oil output following a very good earnings season for oil companies," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst from OANDA, in a note. 

Recessionary concerns were heightened on Monday as surveys from the United States, Europe and Asia showed that factories struggled for momentum in July. Flagging global demand and China's strict COVID-19 restrictions slowed production.

The price drops also come as market participants await the outcome of a meeting on Wednesday between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, together known as OPEC+, to decide on September output. 

Two of eight OPEC+ sources in a Reuters survey said that a modest increase for September would be discussed at the Aug. 3 meeting. The rest said output is likely to be held steady. 

Meanwhile, the United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Chinese and other firms it said helped to sell tens of millions of dollars' in Iranian oil and petrochemical products to East Asia as it seeks to raise pressure on Tehran to curb its nuclear program. 

Also casting a cloud over the market is the possibility of a visit to Taiwan by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, despite Beijing's warnings against it.

The visit would mark the first time a high-profile U.S. official has been on the island in over 25 years, which could escalate tensions between the U.S. and China.