Markets Defused aims to give an easy-to-understand and straightforward recap of the day’s engaging stock market news.
- Reddit stock surges on OpenAI tie-up
- Take-Two dips as GTA6 slips to 'Fall 2025'
- BT Group glass half full
- Royal Mail deal unlikely to avoid politics
- Easyjet CEO to exit on a high
- Chevron sells up and exits North Sea
Reddit stock surges on OpenAI tie-up
Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) shares traded significantly higher following Thursday’s close, up 14% in afterhours dealing, on the news that it had partnered with ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
It is expected that Reddit content would be brought into OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other products, meanwhile, OpenAI will also become a Reddit advertising partner.
OpenAI will access Reddit’s data API to obtain real-time, structured, and unique content from the social media platform.
“Reddit has become one of the internet’s largest open archives of authentic, relevant, and always up to date human conversations about anything and everything,” Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman said in a statement.
“Including it in ChatGPT upholds our belief in a connected internet, helps people find more of what they’re looking for, and helps new audiences find community on Reddit.”
Take-Two stock dips as GTA 6 slips to ‘Fall 2025’
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO), parent to Rockstar Games, has conceded that Grand Theft Auto 6 will not be released during the game studio’s current financial year.
The hotly anticipated game is now not expected to be released until ‘Fall 2025′.
TTWO executives would not be more specific than that during an investor call for the firm’s quarterly earnings.
Whilst a formal timetable had not previously been communicated there had been recent online rumours that the release date would slip even further, into 2026.
TTWO chief executive Strauss Zelnick meanwhile indicated that it would be the Rockstar subsidiary that would formally announce a release date for the game.
“Our outlook reflects a narrowing of Rockstar Games’ previously established window of calendar 2025 to Fall of Calendar 2025 for Grand Theft Auto VI,” Zelnick said in a statement.
“We are highly confident that Rockstar Games will deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience, and our expectations for the commercial impact of the title continue to increase.
BT Group glass half full with boosted shareholder dividends
Dividends helped BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) to a positive trading day despite final results that disappointed slightly compared to market expectations.
BT on Thursday told investors it would be paying a final dividend of 5.69p, which takes the total for the year up to 8p per share.
It comes as BT highlighted an important milestone – passing the peak of capital investment needed to roll out fibre broadband – and cheered its successful cost-cutting programme that’s axed some £3 billion of outgoings around a year ahead of schedule.
Actual trading metrics were less inspiring though with full-year revenue marked at £20.8 billion rather than the £20.9 million forecast by City analysts. Underlying profit was up 2% at £8.10 billion, shy of a forecast pitched at £8.15 billion.
BT said it expected to grow earnings (EBTIDA) by between 0% and 1% in its current financial year..
Evidently, the improved dividend payout meant shareholders’ glasses were seen as half full, with BT shares rising 16% during Thursday’s session to finish near the 131.25p marker.
“Having passed peak capex on our full fibre broadband rollout and achieved our £3 billion cost and service transformation programme a year ahead of schedule, we've now reached the inflection point on our long-term strategy,” chief executive Allison Kirkby said.
"This delivery and greater capex efficiency gives us the confidence to provide new guidance for significantly increased short-term cash flow and sets out a path to more than double our normalised free cash flow over the next five years.
Royal Mail takeover unlikely to escape politics – analyst says
The proposed takeover of Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS) by Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group is unlikely to escape government scrutiny, especially if the Labour Party wins the next election and is in power by the time the deal is due to close, that’s the view of one City analyst on Thursday.
The proposed £3.5 billion takeover, which would put the UK postal company in ‘foreign’ ownership for the first time, made headlines on Wednesday afternoon and has since sparked public debate.
Much of the attention has been on Royal Mail’s public service obligations, and, whether the sale of the company which was privatised in 2013, under David Cameron’s government, presents a risk to the public interest.
A press report in the Daily Mail, citing unnamed sources, claimed government ministers were not planning to intervene in the matter.
Elsewhere, however, City analysts were looking at the prospect in quite opposite terms.
"We remain highly sceptical on the prospects of government clearance, especially if it falls to a potential future Labour government to decide," Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo said in a note.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, questioned: “I don’t know whether the bid has much chance in an election year really.
And, according to AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson, UK regulator OFCOM may also scrutinise the proposed deal.
In the UK, the National Security & Investment Act gives the government the power to intervene in takeovers and similar situations related to entities where there is a significant public interest, such as critical national infrastructure.
Easyjet CEO to exit on a high
easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) chief executive Johan Lundgren is to exit the budget airline, in early 2025, after a seven-year term.
The news came as Easyjet reported a 22% jump in revenue for its winter season, with its half-year total amounting to £3.27 billion, driven by an 11% increase in passenger numbers.
Easyjet also boast continuing growth in its complementary holidays business which boosted its six-months revenue by 40% and banked a £31 million profit.
At group level, meanwhile, Easyjet reported a pre-tax loss of £350 million which compared favourably to analyst forecasts of a slightly larger loss of £357 million.
"We are now absolutely focused on another record summer which is expected to deliver strong FY24 earnings growth and are on track to achieve our medium-term targets,” Lundgren said.
Kenton Jarvis, Easyjet’s chief financial officer, will step up to take the reins following Lundgren's exit.
US oiler Chevron sells up and exits UK North Sea
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX, ETR:CHV) is selling its remaining 19.4% stake in BP-operated Cair oilfield which is in the West of Shetland region, and, produces around 120,000 barrels of oil per day.
It comes as oil producers have increasingly winced at the high tax rates currently levied by the British government – the rate, including supplementary (aka ‘windfall’) taxes, equates to 75%.
In recent months the UK oil lobby has become louder ahead of an upcoming UK election, in which both energy security and climate change will be hot-button topics.
Chevron, meanwhile, is selling up because of its proposed $53 billion acquisition of Hess which gives it access to onshore US shale and newer higher impact offshore projects in Guyana, South America.
The American major has previously said it would target up to $15 billion of asset sales to boost it coffers for the Hess deal.
The North Sea sale could bank around $1 billion, according to reports.