Shell posts record $40bn profit

Oil major Shell has posted an all-time record profit of $40bn, but is facing a significant damages suit. Elsewhere, the Adani Group’s tribulations continue, with warnings of a liquidity crunch, while Meta has seen a share bounce of 20% on the back of anticipated revenues. The EV price war rumbles on as US-based Rivian is set to cut 6% of staff. Lastly, microchip stocks saw notable gains following a positive earnings report from AMD.

Shell posts record $40bn profit

Shell’s [SHEL.L] profits for 2022 totalled almost $40bn, in a record year for the oil major. This sum is over $10bn higher than the previous record of $28.4bn set in 2008. Meanwhile, Shell faces a damages suit from 11,000 Nigerians in the UK High Court over the polluting impact from historic oil spills.

Adani companies lose $100bn in market cap

The Adani Group [ADANIENT.NS] has withdrawn a record stock offering as $100bn was wiped off the value of the group’s shares. An intense selloff followed accusations of fraud and market manipulation from short seller Hindenburg Research last week, with Leonard Law, a senior credit analyst at Lucror Analytics, now warning of a liquidity crunch within the group.

Rising revenues fuel Meta share bounce

Meta’s [META] shares surged 20% in after-hours trading following its Q4 earnings report. The social media giant beat analyst predictions on revenue and promised a $40bn share buyback, while reporting that its underlying costs are falling, and predicting revenues of up to $28.5bn in the current quarter. Meanwhile, a judge has ruled against the Federal Trade Commission in its attempt to block Meta acquiring virtual-reality startup Within Unlimited.

EV price war forces Rivian to cut 6% of staff

The EV sector is bracing for an industry-wide price war as US-based Rivian [RIVN] prepares to lay off 6% of its staff, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The company is focused on increasing production and productivity, but difficult economic conditions and price cuts from rivals Tesla [TSLA] and Ford [F] are piling pressure on the manufacturer.

AMD earnings beat boosts semiconductor stocks

Microchip stocks made significant gains this week following a positive earnings report from AMD [AMD]. The Fed’s 25 bps increase also fuelled positivity. AMD itself gained over 12% on an earnings beat, but the results pushed competitors Nvidia [NVDA] and Qualcomm [QCOM] up 8% and 4% respectively. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF [SMH] gained 4.7%.