Tesla, Procter & Gamble, Apple: Stocks That Defined the Week

By Francesca Fontana 

Apple Inc.

A podcast fight between Apple and Spotify Technology SA is getting louder. Apple unveiled new products Tuesday that include a subscription podcast service, while Spotify has said it plans to launch a subscription-podcasting model. The music-streaming company has been among Apple's most prominent corporate critics; it claims Apple uses its strength to compete unfairly, a charge the tech company denies. Apple shares lost 1.3% Tuesday, and Spotify shares fell 3.3%.

GameStop Corp.

It is game over for GameStop's chief executive. George Sherman will leave his post by July 31, the latest in a series of changes to the videogame retailer's leadership team since Chewy Inc. co-founder Ryan Cohen became a board member. Mr. Sherman has been leading the company since April 2019. GameStop agreed to allow Mr. Sherman to retain more than one million shares of restricted stock, worth nearly $175 million as of Friday, as part of a separation agreement. The company has been working with a search firm to evaluate candidates for the role, focusing on people with a background in the technology or videogame industries. GameStop shares rose 6.3% Monday.

Tesla Inc.

Tesla is facing scrutiny after a fatal crash involving one of its electric cars. U.S. safety officials are investigating the accident, in which two men died in a Tesla Model S sedan that crashed into a tree. Local authorities believe the vehicle was operating without anyone in the driver's seat when it crashed. Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday injected additional uncertainty into the situation. He tweeted that data recovered so far showed the car's advanced driver-assistance system, known as Autopilot, wasn't enabled. Authorities have been investigating whether the vehicle's Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash. Tesla shares fell 3.4% Monday.

Netflix Inc.

Netflix's sign-up boom is slowing down. The company's subscriber growth for the first quarter of 2021 was weaker than expected, a potential warning sign as consumers start to emerge from lockdowns and streaming competition increases. The company on Tuesday said it added four million subscribers on a net basis globally between January and March, fewer than its forecast of six million and far below the 15.8 million increase from the same period a year earlier. Netflix also faces its greatest competitive threats. Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ already has 100 million subscribers world-wide after launching about a year and a half ago, and other rivals are spending heavily for content, driving up programming costs. Netflix shares lost 7.4% Wednesday.

Procter & Gamble Co.

The costs of running a household are going up. Procter & Gamble will this fall start charging more for household staples from diapers to tampons, citing rising costs for raw materials and higher expenses to move goods. Global supply chains were already struggling because of the pandemic, and the February freeze that triggered blackouts in Texas led to a shortage in raw materials that sent prices for polyethylene, polypropylene and other chemical compounds to their highest levels in years. The maker of Gillette razors and Tide detergent is the latest and biggest consumer-products company to announce price increases, following a similar move by Kimberly-Clark Corp. P&G shares added 0.8% Tuesday.

Nestlé SA

Nestlé sales got a boost from consumers stuck at home. The world's biggest packaged-food company on Thursday reported its best quarterly sales growth in almost a decade, driven by strong demand for Nespresso pods, Nescafé instant coffee and Starbucks-branded products. The Swiss company made coffee a priority in recent years as part of an overhaul, and it has paid off during the pandemic. American depositary shares of Nestlé rose 2.4% Thursday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase made a rare public apology for its role in the failed soccer Super League. The bank said Friday that its role providing the financial backing for the new European soccer league was a misjudgment. The effort to reshape the soccer landscape collapsed Tuesday as six of the proposed circuit's 12 elite clubs pulled out following ferocious outcry from fans, rival clubs, players, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William, the president of England's Football Association. JPMorgan had pledged around $4 billion of financing to get the new Super League off the ground. JPMorgan shares rose 1.9% Friday.

Write to Francesca Fontana at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2021 19:56 ET (23:56 GMT)

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