A Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 aircraft at Kingsford Smith Airport on August 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., is the flag carrier of Hong Kong with its main hub being at Hong Kong International Airport.
James D. Morgan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Rolls-Royce shares opened higher Tuesday, making up some of the previous session’s losses after Cathay Pacific cancelled several flights upon discovering technical issues in aircraft utilizing the British manufacturer’s Trent XWB-97 engines.
Rolls-Royce shares were 4.6% higher at 8:46 a.m. London time Tuesday, after falling 6.5% on Monday.
Cathay Pacific on Tuesday announced it had identified an engine component failure in 15 of its Airbus A350 aircraft — a long-range, wide-body that uses Rolls-Royce engines. The issue was found following an engine component failure on a Zurich-bound flight operated by the carrier from its base in Hong Kong on Sept. 2. The plane did not complete its journey and returned to Hong Kong.
Cathay Pacific shares dipped 0.6% Tuesday.
The airline said three aircraft had already been successfully repaired, with the remaining aircraft expected to resume operations by Sept. 7.
The issue led to the cancellation of nearly 40 flights on Monday. Long-haul flights are not expected to be affected going forward and customers will be offered alternative routes, Cathay Pacific said.
Details on cancellations up to Sept. 7 will be released by 2 p.m. local time Wednesday, the company added.
Rolls-Royce on Tuesday confirmed its Trent XWB-97 was used in the aircraft. Investors are sensitive to such problems given the engine issues at Pratt & Whitney which have caused significant delays to Airbus deliveries of some aircraft; and the long-running series of manufacturing problems at the U.S.’s Boeing.
Rolls-Royce said that Hong Kong authorities had launched an investigation that restricted the company’s ability to comment, but noted that it was “committed to working closely with the airline, aircraft manufacturer and the relevant authorities to support their efforts.”
It added it would keep other airlines that operate Trent XWB-97 engines “fully informed of any relevant developments as appropriate.”
“While the news raises some concerns, our preliminary analysis is that the financial liability could be contained. Hence, our positive view of the equity story is unchanged,” Deutsche Bank analysts said Tuesday.
For many reasons — including affordability — more Americans are choosing to rent everything from cars and apartments to clothing and furniture these days, according to a report by Intuit Credit Karma.
Far beyond the traditional tuxedo, the rental industry has expanded in recent years to include power tools, musical instruments, designer handbags, baby gear and even funeral caskets.
Now, 28% of adults routinely rent goods and services, Credit Karma found. However, when factoring in housing, that percentage jumps to 47%.
The growing share of renters is largely due to higher prices, although some people simply prefer renting over buying, opting for a “rent-first” lifestyle, according to the survey, which polled more than 2,000 adults in June.
Aside from affordability concerns, more than half — 58% — of those polled said they find value in renting, because it allows for more flexibility and is a way to avoid overconsumption, which has become an increasing concern among millennial and Gen Z adults.
“Renting is a great option for many people,” said Carolyn McClanahan, a certified financial planner and founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida. However, it always pays to do the math, she advised.
“Some people do great renting clothes and, for special events, this can be good,” said McClanahan, who also is a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council. “However, if you know you have a lot of special events, a few really good [owned] pieces can last a long time.”
Clothing prices have been hard hit by inflation. Since July 2020, men’s and women’s apparel prices are up 15% and 13.3%, respectively, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index.
Meanwhile, It may not make as much sense to lease a car, McClanahan said, “as that ends up being higher costs long-term.”
Although monthly lease payments tend to be lower than car loan payments, financing a car with a new or used auto loan usually ends up costing less than a lease in the long run, especially for consumers who hold onto vehicles for years.
Additionally, car lease agreements often come with routine service included in the terms, but the downside is there are also mileage limits and potential charges for wear and tear.
More importantly, car buyers will benefit from owning the vehicle outright at the end of a loan term, and have built equity in the asset.
Since housing costs are the biggest expense for most people, it may make sense to rent, at least initially.
“Unless you are absolutely sure you are dedicated to being in a home for at least five years, you should definitely rent,” McClanahan said. “Only when you are settled with life, jobs and family is when it probably makes sense to buy a home.”
Because millennials are more likely to postpone marriage and starting a family, they are able to cast a wider net when looking for place to live, or relocate for a job, if necessary, which makes renting more worthwhile.
“This generation is different,” said Dottie Herman, vice chair at Douglas Elliman. “They believe in homeownership but now there is a choice.”
According to Herman, “it’s not quite as important to them to own a house. A lot of them say, ‘I’ll rent, and I’ll think about it.’”
Of course, some Americans, especially young adults, are renting because they must.
Higher mortgage rates and a shortage of houses on the market relative to buyer demand have kept home prices elevated and created an affordability crunch for would-be buyers. Sometimes renting is the only option available.
Close to three-fourths of would-be homeowners said affordability is their greatest obstacle, according to a report by Bankrate. Among younger adults, 50% said homeownership is only achievable for the wealthy, Credit Karma also found.
Even though wealth creation has been concentrated amongst homeowners in recent years, often there is a pressure to buy, when it may not make financial sense, according to Michael Krowe, director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.
“Don’t make a home purchase simply because you think it’s going to surge in value,” he said. “You might think your home is an investment — it’s not. Your home is a place to live.”
“Buy a home because you like the neighborhood, schools and proximity to friends and family,” Krowe said. There may be benefits to renting in this market, he added, particularly if it allows you to avoid stretching beyond your means.
DETROIT – General Motors is folding its all-electric BrightDrop commercial vans into the Chevrolet brand in an attempt to increase sales, accessibility and recognition of the vehicles.
The change is expected to expand the selling and service points from a handful of dealers to Chevrolet’s large network of North American dealers, including more than 500 commercial-focused stores in the U.S., according to Sandor Piszar, vice president of the GM Envolve fleet business in North America.
“It’s got that strength of the Chevrolet brand behind it,” he told CNBC. “It’s absolutely going to drive volume. It helps our customers that choose to go into EVs to easily do so working with the Chevrolet dealer they know and trust now for their other fleet needs.”
The number of new dealers will be based on the amount that decide to opt in to selling and servicing the vans. To sell commercial EVs, dealers must have specific vehicle lifts, service bays and employee training, among other things.
GM declined to disclose the average cost for a dealer to become certified to sell the BrightDrop products, citing expenses will vary based on the store.
BrightDrop currently sells two all-electric commercial vans, called the Zevo 400 and Zevo 600, which are used for things such as package delivery. Starting later this year with the 2025 model year, those vans will be rebranded as Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and 600 vans.
“Chevy’s our top-selling fleet brand for General Motors.” Piszar said. “This makes absolute perfect sense for GM Envolve and Chevrolet.”
The Thursday announcement is the latest change for BrightDrop, which GM launched in 2021 as a fully owned subsidiary before folding it into the company’s fleet business last year.
GM had high expectations of making BrightDrop into a new, lucrative growth business for the automaker, but sales and revenue are not believed to have met the company’s initial expectations.
BrightDrop was expected to generate $1 billion in revenue in 2023. GM declined to disclose BrightDrop’s revenue, but it’s highly unlikely the target was achieved.
The automaker only sold about 500 BrightDrop vans in 2023. GM reports BrightDrop’s sales through the first six months of 2024 were 746 units.
The vans are produced at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.
JD.com set up an Innovative Retail division that houses its grocery business 7Fresh.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese online retailer JD.com climbed 1.2% on Wednesday, outperforming the decline on the Hang Seng index after the firm announced a $5 billion buyback late Tuesday.
U.S. listed shares of the firm rose 2.24% on Tuesday after the announcement. Both JD.com’s Hong Kong and U.S. shares have dropped about 20% year to date.
In comparison, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index was down about 0.82% Wednesday, but is up about 4% for the year so far.
The announcement is JD.com’s second buyback this year, after announcing a $3 billion buyback in March.
In response to the move, Chelsey Tam, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said that the decision to announce the share buyback is “not surprising.” She explained, “It is a common theme in China when share prices and growth are low.”
China’s e-commerce sector has been dogged by a slow domestic economy.
Earlier this month, Alibaba’s second-quarter results missed expectations on both the top and bottom lines. On Monday, Temu-owner Pinduoduo saw its worst ever session after its second-quarter results missed both revenue and earnings per share expectations.
A Dollar General store in Germantown, New York, on Nov. 30, 2023.
Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Three of the nation’s largest retailers — Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Kroger — charge fees to customers who ask for “cash back” at check-out, amounting to more than $90 million a year, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Many retailers offer a cash-back option to consumers who pay for purchases with a debit or pre-paid card.
But levying a fee for the service may be “exploiting” certain customers, especially those who live in so-called banking deserts without easy access to a bank branch or free cash withdrawals, according to a CFPB analysis issued Tuesday.
That dynamic tends to disproportionately impact rural communities, lower earners and people of color, CFPB said.
Not all retailers charge cash-back fees, which can range from $0.50 to upwards of $3 per transaction, according to the agency, which has cracked down on financial institutions in recent years for charging so-called “junk fees.”
Five of the eight companies that the CFPB sampled offer cash back for free.
They include Albertsons, a grocer; the drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens; and discount retailers Target and Walmart. (Kroger proposed a $25 billion merger with Albertsons in 2022, but that deal is pending in court.)
“Fees to get cash back are just one more nickel and dime that all starts to add up,” said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, an advocacy group.
“It just makes it harder and harder to get by,” he said. “It’s thousands of little cuts at a time.”
Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images
A spokesperson for Dollar General said cash back can help save customers money relative to “alternative, non-retail options” like check cashing or ATM fees.
“While not a financial institution, Dollar General provides cashback options at our more than 20,000 stores across the country as a service to customers who may not have convenient access to their primary financial institution,” the spokesperson said.
Spokespeople for Kroger and Dollar Tree (which operates Family Dollar and Dollar Tree stores) didn’t respond to requests for comment from CNBC.
Kroger, Dollar General and Dollar Tree were respectively the No. 4, 17 and 19 largest U.S. retailers by sales in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade group.
The practice of charging for cash back is relatively new, Rust explained.
For example, in 2019, Kroger Co. rolled out a $0.50 fee on cash back of $100 or less and $3.50 for amounts between $100 and $300, according to CFPB.
This applied across brands like Kroger, Fred Meyers, Ralph’s, QFC and Pick ‘N Save, among others.
However, Kroger Co. began charging for cash back at its Harris Teeter brand in January 2024: $0.75 for amounts of $100 or less and $3 for larger amounts up to $200, CFPB said.
Cash withdrawals from retail locations is the second most popular way to access cash, representing 17% of transactions over 2017-22, according to a CFPB analysis of the Diary and Survey of Consumer Payment Choice.
ATMs were the most popular, at 61%.
But there are some key differences between retail and ATM withdrawals, according to CFPB and consumer advocates.
For instance, relatively low caps on cash-back amounts make it challenging to limit the impact of fees by spreading them over larger withdrawals, they said.
The average retail cash withdrawal was $34 from 2017-22, while it was $126 at ATMs, CFPB said.
However, retailers may be the only reasonable way to get cash for consumers who live in banking deserts, experts say.
More than 12 million people — about 3.8% of the U.S. population — lived in a banking desert in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
That figure is up from 11.5 million, or 3.5% of the population, in 2019, it found.
Generally speaking, a banking desert constitutes any geographic area without a local bank branch. Such people don’t live within 10 miles of a physical bank branch. The rise of digital banking, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has led many banks to close their brick-and-mortar store fronts, according to Lali Shaffer, a payments risk expert at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
These deserts “may hurt vulnerable populations” who are already less likely to have access to online and mobile banking, she wrote recently.
Retail advocates say banks are to blame for cash-back fees.
Merchants must pay fees to banks whenever customers swipe a debit card or credit card for purchases. Those fees might be 2% to 4% of a transaction, for example.
Since cash-back totals are included in the total transaction price, merchants also pay fees to banks on any cash that consumers request.
The “vast majority” of retailers don’t charge for cash back, and therefore take a financial loss to offer this service to customers for free, said Doug Kantor, general counsel at the National Association of Convenience Stores and a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition Executive Committee.
“Banks have abandoned many of these communities and they’re gouging retailers just for taking people’s cards or giving people cash,” he said.
But consumer advocates say this calculus overlooks the benefit that retailers get by offering cash back,
“You’d think they’d see this as a free way to get customers: coming into [the] store because the bank branch isn’t there,” Rust said. “Instead they’re going ahead and charging another junk fee.”
Three fires blazed on a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Friday, one day after rescuers evacuated its crew in the wake of an assault by Yemeni Houthi militants.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, said on Thursday that they had attacked the Sounion oil tanker as part of their 10-month campaign against commercial shipping to support Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The Houthis first damaged the tanker on Wednesday with repeated attacks that caused a fire and a loss of engine power. A European warship later rescued her crew of 25. The uncrewed vessel was anchored between Yemen and Eritrea, a maritime security source told Reuters on Thursday.
On Friday, UKMTO said in an advisory that it had received reports of three fires on the vessel, which “appears to be drifting.” Later in the day, the Houthis posted a video on social media that purportedly showed them setting the tanker on fire.
The damaged tanker, carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil, poses an environmental hazard, the EU’s Red Sea naval mission Aspides said.
“A potential spill could lead to disastrous consequences for the region’s marine environment,” the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority said in a post on the social media site X on Friday.
The largest recorded ship-source spill was in 1979, when about 287,000 tonnes of oil escaped from the Atlantic Empress after it collided with another crude carrier in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Tobago during a storm, according to International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation.
The Sounion was the third vessel operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers to come under Houthi attack this month.
The Houthis said it attacked the tanker in part because Delta Tankers’ violated its ban on “entry to the ports of occupied Palestine,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised speech.
“Delta Tankers is doing everything it can to move the vessel (and cargo). For security reasons, we are not in a position to comment further,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
A house under construction is seen between completed houses in a new development in Brambleton, Virginia on August 14, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Mortgage rates fell for the third week in a row last week, but the rush to refinance took a breather.
Applications to refinance a home loan dropped 15% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was, however, 90% higher than the same week one year ago. That is likely due to the 23% surge in demand over the past four weeks, as mortgage rates fell.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.50% from 6.54%, with points increasing to 0.60 from 0.57 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.
The 30-year fixed rate has fallen 32 basis points in the past four weeks and is 81 basis points lower than it was a year ago. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
“Both mortgage rates and mortgage applications have now stabilized after a few weeks of financial market volatility, which led to a quick drop in mortgage rates,” wrote Joel Kan, an MBA economist, in a release. “The other point to note is that yes rates are lower, but they’re still 6.5%, which is not low for those borrowers out there with sub five rates.”
The vast majority of borrowers today have rates well below 5%, as rates dropped below 3% in the first two years of the Covid pandemic.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 5% for the week and were 8% lower than the same week one year ago. Demand is now at the lowest level since February. Homebuyers are not as influenced by the recent drop in rates because they are still struggling to afford what little is available for sale. Home prices continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace than in the past few years, but more supply is coming on the market.
“Even with lower mortgage rates, potential buyers might be more selective now that there are more options,” added Kan.
Mortgage rates declined further to start this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily.
“The lowest rates in just over 2 weeks might seem like it’s worth more enthusiasm, but we didn’t learn anything new about the current trends that we didn’t know yesterday,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “Simply put, there was a ton of rate volatility earlier in the month, and we’ve been in a slow, largely sideways grind since then as we wait for more compelling motivations.”
Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a “Morning Meeting” livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here’s a recap of Tuesday’s key moments. 1. The S & P Short Range Oscillator signaled a very overbought market even as the S & P 500 tracked modestly lower. We’ll see at the close whether the index’s eight-session winning streak will be broken. This is not a time to buy, Jim Cramer said. “You can only sell.” We trimmed Morgan Stanley after a nice run . On Monday, we exited Estee Lauder . After its recent rally and ahead of a baby formula trial, Jim suggested Abbott Laboratories could be trimmed. That gives us “optionality to buy Abbott if it goes down,” he added. Following solid earnings and a subsequent 8% stock rise, Jim said that trimming Palo Alto Networks might not be a bad idea, given its run higher. 2. Advanced Micro Devices rose another 1% on Tuesday, one day after announcing a deal to buy hyperscaler ZT Systems. The purpose of the deal is to expand its portfolio of AI chips and hardware to compete with fellow Club name Nvidia . “ZT makes it so they’re competitive. It’s a very important deal,” Jim explained. Investors are calling this acquisition an “acqui-hire” since AMD said plans to sell ZT’s manufacturing unit but retain 1,000 of its engineers. “They don’t have good training, meaning they need more data,” Jim added. “They need these engineers really badly.” 3. JPMorgan retail analyst Matthew Boss raised his price target on TJX Companies on Tuesday to $126 per share from $125. But he estimated that the end of TJX’s most recent quarter may not be that great. Jim agrees with Boss’ assessment. “You know I think it’s terrific,” Jim said, referring to TJX stock. But he added, “I would probably let some go if we weren’t restricted.” Shares of TJX, the off-price retailer behind T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, are up 20% year-to-date. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long MS, ABT, AMD, TJX. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Jim Cramer’s daily rapid fire looks at stocks in the news outside the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Lowe’s : The home improvement retailer beat on earnings but missed on revenues. Lowe’s also cut its full-year outlook. Shares were higher earlier but turned modestly negative. “The stock is hanging because of the Federal Reserve. No one wants to this stock ahead of Jackson Hole,” Jim Cramer said Tuesday. Lowe’s says it needs housing to be better. “The Fed lowers [rates], we get transactions.” Medtronic : The medical devices giant raised its full-year outlook after beating quarterly estimates. The stock rose 3%. “I know that Medtronic has been one of my faves,” Cramer said. “I’m not sure about this one.” Amer Sports : The company behind the Salomon and Wilson brands delivered better than expected quarter. The stock jumped more than 12%. “This one has been one that’s been a disappointment. Maybe it’s finally showing some life,” Cramer said. Vornado Realty : The real estate investment trust got a double upgrade to buy from sell at Evercore ISI. Shares rose modestly to a 52-week high. Many people think “it’s a bridge too far to think that city real estate can come back,” Cramer said. He stressed that’s not the case. “It’s good.” Abercrombie & Fitch : The retailer was named a positive catalyst idea at Citi. The stock was little changed. “The company has been money over and over and over again.”
Three years ago, JPMorgan Chase became the first bank with a branch in all 48 contiguous states. Now, the firm is expanding, with the aim of reaching more Americans in smaller cities and towns.
JPMorgan recently announced a new goal within its multibillion-dollar branch expansion plan that ensures coverage is within an “accessible drive time” for half the population in the lower 48 states. That requires new locations in areas that are less densely populated — a focus for Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon as he embarks on his 14th annual bus tour Monday.
Dimon’s first stop is in Iowa, where the bank plans to open 25 more branches by 2030.
“From promoting community development to helping small businesses and teaching financial management skills and tools, we strive to extend the full force of the firm to all of the communities we serve,” Dimon said in a statement.
He will also travel to Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas this week. Across those six states, the bank has plans to open more than 125 new branches, according to Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking.
“We’re still at very low single-digit branch share, and we know that in order for us to really optimize our investment in these communities, we need to be at a higher branch share,” Roberts said in an interview with CNBC. Roberts is traveling alongside Dimon across the Midwest for the bus tour.
Roberts said the goal is to reach “optimal branch share,” which in some newer markets amounts to “more than double” current levels.
At the bank’s investor day in May, Roberts said that the firm was targeting 15% deposit share and that extending the reach of bank branches is a key part of that strategy. She said 80 of the firm’s 220 basis points of deposit-share gain between 2019 and 2023 were from branches less than a decade old. In other words, almost 40% of those deposit share gains can be linked to investments in new physical branches.
In expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint, JPMorgan is bucking the broader banking industry trend of shuttering branches. Higher-for-longer interest rates have created industrywide headwinds due to funding costs, and banks have opted to reduce their branch footprint to offset some of the macro pressures.
In the first quarter, the U.S. banking industry recorded 229 net branch closings, compared with just 59 in the previous quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Wells Fargo and Bank of America closed the highest net number of branches, while JPMorgan was the most active net opener.
According to FDIC research collated by KBW, growth in bank branches peaked right before the financial crisis, in 2007. KBW said this was due, in part, to banks assessing their own efficiencies and shuttering underperforming locations, as well as technological advances that allowed for online banking and remote deposit capture. This secular reckoning was exacerbated during the pandemic, when banks reported little change to operating capacity even when physical branches were closed temporarily, the report said.
But JPMorgan, the nation’s largest lender, raked in a record $50 billion in profit in 2023 – the most ever for a U.S. bank. As a result, the firm is in a unique position to spend on brick-and-mortar, while others are opting to be more prudent.
When it comes to prioritizing locations for new branches, Roberts said it’s a “balance of art and science.” She said the bank looks at factors such as population growth, the number of small businesses in the community, whether there is a new corporate headquarters, a new suburb being built, or new roadways.
And even in smaller cities, foot traffic is a critical ingredient.
“I always joke and say, if there’s a Chick-fil-A there, we want to be there, too,” Roberts said. “Because Chick-fil-A’s, no matter where they go, are always successful and busy.”
DETROIT — A once “dirty” word, and business, in the automotive industry has become a multibillion-dollar battleground for U.S. automakers, led by Ford Motor.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker has turned its fleet business, which includes sales to commercial, government and rental customers, into an earnings powerhouse. And Ford’s crosstown rivals General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis have taken notice, restructuring their operations as well.
“There’s much more of an emphasis now on profitability and how fleet can help that,” said Mark Hazel, S&P Global Mobility associate director of commercial vehicle reporting. “[Automakers] are looking at how they strategically go about this. It’s been a very targeted approach with how they deal with fleets.”
Many fleet sales, especially daily rentals, have historically been viewed as a negative for auto companies. They are traditionally less profitable than sales to retail customers and are used by automakers at times as a dumping ground to unload excess vehicle inventories and boost sales.
But Ford has proven that’s not always the case by breaking out financial results for its “Ford Pro” fleet business. The operations have raked in about $18.7 billion in adjusted earnings and $184.5 billion in revenue since 2021.
Such results have led Wall Street to praise the business, as analysts have called it a “hidden gem” and Ford’s “Ferrari,” referring to the highly profitable Italian sports car manufacturer.
“No other company has Ford Pro. We intend to fully press that advantage,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said July 24 during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, in which Ford Pro was the dominant performer.
Fleet sales typically account for 18% to 20% of annual industrywide U.S. light-duty vehicle sales, which exclude some larger trucks and vans, according to J.D. Power.
Part of the opportunity in fleet sales comes from the aging vehicles on U.S. roadways. The average age of the 25 million fleet and commercial vehicles on American roads was 17.5 years last year, according to S&P. That compares with light-duty passenger vehicles at 12.4 years in 2023.
While commercial sales, which are viewed as the best fleet sales, are estimated to be slightly lower this year compared with 2023, both GM and Stellantis have recently redesigned and doubled down on such operations. However, neither reports such results out separately.
“Breaking apart the fleet channel, we see that Commercial sales have been the weakest. And zooming in further, there are just two [original equipment manufacturers] that appear especially challenged: STLA and, to a lesser extent, GM,” Wolfe Research said in an investor note Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Ford’s commercial volumes have increased a “strong” 7% this year compared with 2023, Wolfe said.
While fleet sales data isn’t as available as retail, Wolfe Research estimates Ford is by far the leader in such earnings at a forecast of $9.5 billion this year. That compares with North American operations at GM at $5.5 billion and Stellantis around $3.5 billion, Wolfe estimates.
S&P Global Mobility reports Ford has been the fleet leader for some time. Since 2021, Ford’s market share of new fleet vehicle registrations (categorized by businesses with 10 or more vehicles weighing under 26,000 pounds) has been about 30%. GM, meanwhile, had around 21%-22% during that time, and Stellantis about 9%.
GM, citing third-party data, claims it outsold Ford last year in a segment of fleet sales: commercial vehicles sold exclusively to businesses (with five or more vehicles) and not individual buyers.
Ford, meanwhile, said it counts “all customers who register their full-size, Class 1-7 truck or van under their business,” not just those with five or more vehicles.
Ford claims to lead sales of commercial vehicles, categorized as Class 1-7 trucks and vans, with a roughly 43% share of U.S. registrations through May of this year. That’s up 2.3 percentage points compared with a year earlier, the company said.
The Ford Pro business is led by sales of the automaker’s Super Duty trucks, which are part of its F-Series truck lineup with the Ford F-150, and range from large pickups to commercial trucks and chassis cabs.
It also covers sales of Transit vans in North America and Europe, all sales of the Ranger midsize pickup in Europe, and service parts, accessories and services for commercial, government and rental customers.
Ford Super Duty trucks are seen at the Kentucky Truck assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, 2023.
Joe White | Reuters
But automakers, including Ford, also see fleet operations as a key driver in other ways, including for electric vehicle sales, as well as reoccurring revenue options such as software and logistical services.
“This revenue has gross margins of 50-plus-percent which drives significant operating leverage and improved capital efficiency,” Farley said during the quarterly call. “The major part of this new software business is actually Ford Pro.”
Ford is aiming to achieve $1 billion in sales of software and services in 2025, led by its fleet and commercial business.
“Ford Pro is core to Ford, and there is potential upside on volumes as well as in software and service,” BofA’s John Murphy said Thursday in an investor note. “On software, Ford Pro accounts for ~80% of Ford’s software subscriptions with an attach rate of only 12%, which is projected to grow to 35%+ over the next few years.”
As Ford touts its fleet business, its closest rivals have amped up their operations.
Chrysler parent Stellantis is relaunching its “Ram Professional” unit this year with goals of achieving record profitability in 2025 and, eventually, becoming the No. 1 seller of light-duty commercial vehicles, which exclude some larger vehicles.
Christine Feuell, CEO of Stellantis’ Ram brand, declined to disclose a time frame for achieving that target but said the automaker believes it can do so after completely revamping its operations to focus on better mainstreaming operations for customers and earnings growth through sales and new services.
“It’s a highly profitable business. Not only on the product side, but on the services side,” she told CNBC during a media event last week. “Software and connected services are really a significant growth opportunity for us as well.
“We’re a little bit behind Ford in launching those services, but we definitely expect to see similar kinds of growth and revenues generated from those connected services.”
Ram makes up about 80% of Stellantis’ U.S. fleet and commercial business. It has a new or revamped lineup of trucks and vans coming to market, plus a host of connected and telematics products to assist fleet customers. It also increased the availability of financing and lending for commercial customers.
“This year truly begins our commercial offensive,” Ken Kayser, vice president of Stellantis North American commercial vehicle operations, said during the media event. “2024 is a foundational year for our brand, as we look to build momentum into 2025.”
GM isn’t sitting idle either. It has revamped its fleet and commercial business. It launched “GM Envolve” last year, its overhauled fleet and commercial business focused on fleet sales, digital telematics and logistics for commercial customers.
Sandor Piszar, vice president of GM Envolve in North America, said the Detroit automaker views the business as a competitive advantage not just to sell vehicles but to create reoccurring revenue and relationships with businesses.
2021 GMC Sierra HD pickup
GM
GM Envolve, formerly known as GM Fleet, reorganized the automaker’s business to be a one-stop shop for fleet customers — from sales and financing to fleet management, logistics and maintenance.
“GM Envolve is a critically important piece of General Motors business. It’s a profitable business,” he told CNBC earlier this year. “We think it is a competitive advantage in the approach we’re taking in this consultative approach of a single point of contact and coordinating the full portfolio that General Motors has to offer.”
GM and Stellantis declined to disclose the earnings and profitability of their fleet businesses.
GM Envolve includes the company’s EV commercial business BrightDrop, which was folded back into the automaker last year instead of it acting as a subsidiary. It didn’t accomplish the growth GM had expected, but EVs have an opening for automakers’ fleet and commercial sales.
“BrightDrop is a great opportunity for General Motors and for GM Envolve,” Piszar said, citing all-electric vans specifically for last-mile deliveries as well as small local businesses. “There’s a lot of use cases and as we ramp up production and get customers to try the vehicle that’s a key piece of our model.”
Unlike retail customers, many fleet and commercial customers have predefined routes or schedules that could accommodate EVs well because they drive locally in a region and could charge overnight when electricity costs are lower.
Brightdrop EV600 van
Source: Brightdrop
S&P Global reports EV startup Rivian Automotive led the U.S. in all-electric cargo van registrations last year, roughly doubling Ford, its closest competitor, at No. 2.
While the upfront investment is high, automakers have argued the eventual payback could be worthwhile for some businesses.
All three of the legacy Detroit automakers are touting such advantages to their fleet customers, while still offering traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines.
Stellantis and Ford also have started highlighting their portfolios of different powertrains such as hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as adoption of EVs has not occurred as quickly as many had expected.
Ford last month announced plans valued at about $3 billion to expand Super Duty production, including to “electrify” Super Duty trucks.
“We’ve gone to, on all of our commercial vehicles, a multi-energy platform so we will offer customers the choice that we think no other competitor will have,” Farley said during the earnings call. “We believe we will be a first mover, if not the first mover, in multi-energy Super Duty.”
A “For Sale” sign in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 22, 2023.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 22 basis points to 6.4% Friday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the lowest rate since April 2023. The 15-year fixed rate fell to 5.89%, its lowest level since early May 2023.
“Between [Federal Reserve Chair Jerome] Powell’s equivocal openness to ‘multiple cuts’ in 2024 on Wednesday and this morning’s sharply weaker jobs report (something Powell didn’t even know about on Wednesday), the more aggressive rate cut narrative is quickly coming into focus,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
There are still two inflation reports and another employment report before the Fed’s September meeting, Graham noted, adding, “If they don’t offer strong counterpoints to recent data, the rate cut cycle has not only begun, but it will likely involve a certain sense of urgency.”
The 30-year fixed rate started the week at 6.81%, so the drop in just the past five days is dramatic. The recent high was 7.52% in late April, and home sales have been falling ever since. Buyers were battling not just high interest rates, but also high home prices and a lack of supply. Supply has since improved, but prices are still overheated.
The difference in just a few months is stark when it comes to affordability. In April, a buyer looking to purchase a $400,000 home with a 20% down payment and a 30-year fixed mortgage would have been facing a monthly payment of about $2,240, not including insurance and property taxes. Today, that monthly payment would be about $2,000. More buyers would also qualify for the loan at today’s lower rates.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home have been running about 15% below where they were at this time last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This latest drop could kick-start demand.
“The market is moving ahead of the Fed, bringing down longer-term rates including those for mortgages, which should lead to both more home purchases and a pickup in refinance activity,” wrote Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, in a news release.
Players of Team United States celebrate following victory during the Women’s Rugby Sevens Bronze medal match between Team United States and Team Australia on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France.
Michael Steele | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
The 2024 Paris Olympics are attracting new funds for lesser-known sports and women’s teams, with USA women’s rugby sevens, water polo and women’s track and field scoring major contributions this year.
The USA women’s rugby sevens team earned a $4 million gift from investor Michele Kang earlier this week. Rapper and reality TV personality Flavor Flav threw his support behind water polo, and Alexis Ohanian, the husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams and the co-founder of Reddit, is investing in women’s track and field.
“Niche sports often don’t get the spotlight they deserve, but they are packed with incredible talent and heart,” Flavor Flav said in announcing his support for water polo in July.
Flavor Flav announced a five-year partnership with USA water polo, which includes funds for the 2024 USA women’s team as well as serving as the “official hype man” for both the men’s and women’s teams. The size of his contribution wasn’t disclosed.
He pledged to his support after player Maggie Steffens posted on Instagram that she and her teammates often have to work a second or third job in order to compete, given that water polo doesn’t garner as much attention as other sports.
The USA women’s water polo team has won gold for the past three Olympics, and Flavor Flav aims to elevate their visibility. The partnership includes his commitment to boosting USA water polo on social media, beyond cheering poolside.
Kang’s contribution to women’s sevens rugby will span four years, providing resources for players and coaching staff ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Kang, who founded Kynisca Sports for the advancement of women’s athletics globally, said that 2024 has been a “banner year” for women’s sports with record-breaking engagement. As sponsors and networks increasingly recognize the value of women’s sports, she said that now is the time to invest in them.
The support comes after the women’s rugby sevens team won bronze, collecting the first Olympic medal for the United States in rugby sevens, among both the men’s and women’s teams. They also set a new record for a women’s rugby event, with 66,000 fans packed into Stade de France, according to World Rugby.
“This Eagles team, led by players like Ilona Maher and co-captains Lauren Doyle and Naya Tapper, has captivated millions of new fans, bringing unprecedented attention to the sport,” Kang said in the announcement.
“Our coach said to us if we don’t win a medal, we might not have a program next year, and so that really stuck with me, those words, and so we delivered,” Maher said.
Ohanian already co-own’s a women’s soccer club, and he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this week that he aims to extend the popularity of women’s track and field beyond its Olympics peak.
He announced in April that his venture capital firm will host a competition in late September with the largest ever prize pool for a women’s track and field event. Ohanian is doubling the stakes of the Paris Games with a $30,000 top prize.
“Nothing about this is charity nor should it be charity,” Ohanian said. “This is about excellence, about celebrating it.”
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden, Kasey O’Brien and Nicolas Vega contributed to this report.
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market slides : The S & P 500 gave back earlier gains and fell throughout Tuesday afternoon, led lower by the mega-cap tech stocks. Ahead of the post-Fed meeting news conference Wednesday afternoon, when central bank chief Jerome Powell is expected to signal interest rate cuts are coming, the market continued to toss out stocks of companies that don’t need lower rates to beat and raise. Investors instead kept buying stocks of companies whose prospects get a lot better in a lower-rate environment. In an example of this dynamic, Club name Nvidia doesn’t need rate cuts to spur demand for its artificial intelligence GPUs, but lower rates could create a windfall for Stanley Black & Decker if lower mortgage rates reignite sales of older homes that need repairs and remodeling. Nvidia dropped 5% on Tuesday. Stanley Black & Decker, also a portfolio holding, rose more than 9% in an earnings-driven rally that extended last week’s surge. We don’t know how long this rotation will last, but that’s what playing out right now. Banks shining : Lost in the shuffle of all the earnings earlier and another tech selloff was a bullish note on large-cap banks from Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck. We read Graseck carefully because of her previous big calls. Back in January, Graseck and her team upgraded their view on the large-cap banks to “attractive” and upgraded Citi , Goldman Sachs , and Bank of America to a buy-equivalent overweight. At the time, Morgan Stanley already had overweight ratings on Club name Wells Fargo and JPMorgan . It was a good call. Now, Graseck is back again raising price targets on nearly every bank in her coverage after second-quarter earnings. In her review of the quarter, she found that the capital markets rebound is only in its second inning, excess capital supports higher buybacks next year, and net interest income is starting to inflect for a handful of banks. Longer term, Grasck thinks the banks are skewing towards her “bull case” on lower expected credit losses. Up next: It’s a big night of earnings with Club names Microsoft , Advanced Micro Devices , and Starbucks scheduled to report. Some other names to watch are Arista Networks, Pinterest, First Solar, Caesars Entertainment, and Electronics Arts. Before Wednesday’s open, we get earnings from Club stocks GE Healthcare and DuPont . Boeing, Norwegian Cruise Line, Mastercard, Humana, Trane Technologies, and Kraft Heinz are also set to report. Club stock Meta Platforms is out with earnings after Wednesday’s close. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.
The initial public offering of Pershing Square USA Ltd., with the ticker PSUS, has been delayed until a date to be announced, according to the website. Ackman is now looking to raise $2.5 billion to $4 billion for the fund, well short of the $25 billion target from a few weeks ago, according to a regulatory filing dated Thursday.
Pershing Square declined to comment further. The firm issued a statement “to clarify press reports,” saying that it is proceeding with its initial public offering “with the date of the pricing to be announced.”
Closed-end funds sell a set number of shares during their IPO, and they trade on market exchanges after their debut. The price of the fund does not necessarily match the shares’ net asset value, so the fund may trade at a premium or a discount.
“There is enormous sensitivity to the size of the transaction,” Ackman said in a July 24 letter to investors that was included in the filing. “Particularly in light of the novelty of the structure and closed end funds’ very negative trading history, it requires a significant leap of faith and ultimately careful analysis and judgment for investors to recognize that this closed end company will trade at a premium after the IPO when very few in history have done so.”
Pershing Square had $18.7 billion in assets under management at the end of June. Most of its capital is in Pershing Square Holdings, a $15 billion closed-end fund that trades in Europe. Ackman is seeking to offer a similar closed-end fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that could pave the way for an IPO of his management company.
The public listing of Ackman’s fund is seen as a move to leverage his following among Main Street investors after he accumulated more than one million followers on social media platform X, commenting on issues ranging from antisemitism to the presidential election. The publicly traded closed-end fund is expected to invest in 12 to 24 large-cap, investment-grade, “durable growth” companies in North America.
In the roadshow presentation that he made public, Ackman highlighted the challenge in managing traditional hedge funds that investors can yank their money out of any time, which can result in constant fundraising and soothing of investors. The advantage of managing permanent capital is that it makes him more focused on the portfolio and gives him the ability to take a long-term approach in investments.
“If you want to be a long-term investor in businesses, the challenge of managing a portfolio where money can come and might go is significant. Action can have a significant negative impact on one’s returns,” Ackman said.
The CrowdStrike software bug that crashed Microsoft operating systems and caused the largest IT outage in history caused disruptions at U.S. and global ports, with highly complex air freight systems suffering the heaviest hit, according to logistics experts, as global airlines grounded flights.
“Planes and cargo are not where they are supposed to be and it will take days or even weeks to fully resolve,” Niall van de Wouw, chief air freight officer at supply chain consulting firm Xeneta, said in a statement shared with CNBC. “This is a reminder of how vulnerable our ocean and air supply chains are to IT failure.”
Thousands of flights were grounded or delayed at the world’s largest air freight hubs in Europe, Asia and North America.
The new issue for the global supply chain comes amid a rise in global demand, with shipments up 13% year-over-year in June. Air freight supply has increased, but only by 3% year-on-year, already causing higher costs for shippers due to the limited capacity, according to Xeneta. “Shippers already had concerns about air freight capacity due to huge increases in demand in 2024, driven largely by the extraordinary growth in e-commerce goods being exported from China to Europe and the U.S.,” van de Wouw said. “Available capacity in the market is already limited so airlines are going to struggle to move cargo tomorrow that should have been moved today.
Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, told CNBC on Friday morning that what the government is watching for over the course of the day, as the issue has been identified, is “the kind of ripple or cascade effects as they get everything back in their networks back to normal.”
“These systems, these flights, they run so tightly, so back to back that even after a root cause has been addressed you can still feel those impacts throughout the day,” Buttigieg said.
He said the FAA’s operational systems, like air traffic control or most systems within the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as major urban transit systems, such as New York City’s MTA, were operating though there could be “spot” issues throughout the day. But “as far as the airlines themselves we are going to definitely be expecting more there,” he said.
FedEx said in a statement that it has activated contingency plans, but added that “potential delays are possible for package deliveries” expected Friday.
UPS said in a statement that computer systems in the U.S. and Europe were affected, but its airline continues to operate effectively, and drivers are on the roads delivering for customers. “We are continuing to work to resolve all issues as quickly as possible; there may be some service delays,” UPS stated.
Ports, freight rails, report some issues, but normal operations
Most rails and ports were faring better after some early morning disruptions.
Only one major U.S. freight railroad reported issues related to the IT outage, with Union Pacific confirming in an email to CNBC that it had varying levels of impact across its network.
“Our backup protocols enable us to communicate with our teams and dispatchers. We are doing everything possible to keep freight moving, but there have been some processing delays in customer shipments as we address targeted areas impacted on our network. We will continue to keep our stakeholders updated as we address the outage over the next 24 hours,” Union Pacific said in the emailed statement.
Other major freight operators, including CSX, Norfolk Southern and BNSF, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway said their operations are not currently affected.
Buttigieg said that at the ports, small issues can turn into a big issue, noting that even with ships and cranes operational, gates were affected, which meant the trucks couldn’t come in or out, which led to delays at certain ports, but they are “up and running and open for business today,” he added.
The Port of Houston, the fifth-largest port in the U.S., said it experienced “major system outages” overnight, but said that all of its systems are now up and running with “minimal delay to operations.”
The Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest port, confirmed to CNBC that one of its terminals, APM Terminals, was down temporarily, but came back up in the early morning. In an email to clients, APM, a subsidiary of Maersk, notified trucking clients that the port was “able to recover rather quickly,” and it restarted operations around 2 a.m. Any drivers not able to complete their pickups were told to contact the company’s import group so they could secure a new appointment to have a demurrage waiver for those containers.
Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said there were minimal impacts to some of its terminals, but systems are up or in the process of being restored.
The Port of New York and New Jersey reported a delay in the opening of two terminals, but within a few hours, the terminals were back up and running.
“The Port Authority has been working closely with impacted terminal operators since the overnight hours, assisting in their recovery while also communicating updates through a multitude of channels to the port’s vast community of stakeholders,” said Bethann Rooney, port director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She said the port was able to initiate “a quick and efficient response to get cargo moving again.”
All marine terminals were open by 8 a.m. The Port Authority agency was not impacted by the outage.
Not all ports use systems that incorporate CrowdStrike software, with the Port of Savannah and the Port of Virginia both reporting “normal operations.”
Emily Stausbøll, Xeneta senior shipping analyst, told CNBC that the IT outage has the potential to cause significant disruption at ports if ships are prevented from offloading and loading containers, and that can cascade through the supply chain.
“There are also knock-on impacts across inland supply chains if truck and rail services are unable to pick up and drop off cargo at the port,” Stausbøll said.
She noted that In May, Charleston Port on the U.S. East Coast shut for two days due to a software failure, which resulted in a port congestion increase of 200%. “Port congestion has been a major problem during 2024. While it is now easing, there is no slack in the system and any disruption will push the needle back into the red,” she said.
Maritime intelligence company Kpler told CNBC early indications showed the global IT outage affecting operations at global ports including Poland’s Gdansk, and Dover, Felixstowe and Liverpool in the U.K.
Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, informed customers on its website of possible disruptions, but In an email to CNBC, a port spokesman said critical port operations of the Harbour Master Division and nautical service providers remain operational. “However, some companies in the port, including a container terminal, are experiencing issues due to the disruption and have adjusted their processes. They are working on a solution.”
Matt Wright, senior freight analyst at Kpler, said the outage could lead to some delays at the affected ports, but with Microsoft and Crowdstrike reporting a fix being implemented, resumption of normal operations later today would mean it is unlikely to cause any significant backlog.
Elhedery’s appointment as CEO comes less than two years after he was promoted to chief financial officer in January 2023. He will continue to serve as group CFO during the transition period, the company said in a statement.
“I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me to lead this great institution into the future. Working together with our talented team, I look forward to delivering exceptional value to our clients and investors by driving strong performance on a sustainable growth trajectory,” Elhedery said.
HSBC Group Chairman Mark Tucker called Elhedery “an exceptional leader and banker who cares passionately about the Bank, our customers, and our people.”
Elhedery has worked across multiple regions during his career, spanning Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The bank said “he has demonstrated his strategic insight and vision, and deep international perspectives,” adding that the Board considered him an “outstanding candidate.”
The bank has not yet announced a successor to Elhedery as CFO.
Quinn will work closely with Elhedery to ensure a “smooth and order handover of responsibilities,” HSBC said. Quinn will remain available to the company while on gardening leave until his 12-month notice period ends on April 30, 2025.
Quinn has led the bank through challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and trade tensions between China and the West. He has been with the bank for 37 years, and was appointed as interim CEO in 2019.
Quinn said in April, “After an intense five years, it is now the right time for me to get a better balance between my personal and business life. I intend to pursue a portfolio career going forward.”
The bank’s Hong Kong shares were 0.15% lower Wednesday.
