General Motors (GM, Financial) shares soared in Wednesday's premarket session, climbing over 7% following the announcement of a reinstated FY2023 earnings guidance. The automaker also revealed a $10B share buyback program and plans to increase its common stock dividend by 33% starting in 2024. This news comes after GM had previously suspended its guidance due to a strike by the United Auto Workers, which has since ended with new labor contracts ratified.
U.S. Q3 GDP growth was revised upward to an annualized rate of 5.2% from the initial 4.9%, signaling stronger economic activity than previously thought. This revision reflects increased consumer spending and investment, with the Bureau of Economic Analysis also noting a slight uptick in real disposable personal income and a higher personal savings rate. Inflation measures for the quarter were revised down, with the core PCE price index now at +2.3%.
Phillips 66 (PSX, Financial) experienced a premarket increase of 5% after Elliott Investment Management disclosed a $1 billion stake in the company and sought board seats. Elliott's involvement suggests potential strategic changes and a push for value creation, with the activist investor seeing approximately 75% upside to the current stock price.
Enbridge (ENB, Financial) shared its expectations for EBITDA growth in 2024 and raised its annual dividend. The company anticipates a more than 4% growth in EBITDA relative to its 2023 guidance range, with strong contributions from its liquids pipelines business and significant capital deployment planned for the upcoming year.
Jabil (JBL, Financial) shares dropped in premarket trading as the company pre-announced first-quarter results below expectations and lowered its fiscal 2024 guidance. Despite the negative pre-announcement, Stifel advised buying the stock on weakness, noting similar guidance adjustments from peers and potential for recovery.
Amazon (AMZN, Financial) Web Services' re:Invent conference has been making waves on Wall Street with its announcements, particularly in the AI space. Analysts are impressed with AWS's new AI chatbot, Q, and its expanded deal with Nvidia (NVDA, Financial), which could strengthen AWS's position in cloud services and AI.
Okta (OKTA, Financial) reported a wider scope of a network breach, revealing that hackers stole information on all users of its customer support system. The company's stock fell about 6% premarket as it grapples with the implications of the breach and its impact on customers.
Major earnings releases are anticipated before the bell on Thursday, with investors looking forward to reports from The Kroger Co. (KR, Financial), The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD, Financial), Royal Bank of Canada (RY, Financial), Frontline plc (FRO, Financial), and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM, Financial), among others.
