Google parent announces first-ever dividend; beats on sales, profit; shares soar

By Greg Bensinger and Akash Sriram (Reuters) – Alphabet announced its first-ever dividend on Thursday and a $70 billion stock buyback, cheering investors who sent the stock surging nearly 16% after the bell. The Google parent is returning capital while spending billions of dollars on data centers to catch up with rivals on generative artificial…

Read More

GlaxoSmithKline sues Pfizer and BioNTech over Covid-19 vaccine technology

By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -GlaxoSmithKline sued Pfizer and BioNTech in Delaware federal court on Thursday, accusing them of infringing GSK patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in the companies’ blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. GSK said in the lawsuit that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccines violate the company’s patent rights in mRNA-vaccine innovations developed “more than…

Read More

Chipotle lifts annual sales forecast as customer traffic holds up despite uncertainties

By Granth Vanaik (Reuters) -Chipotle Mexican Grill raised its full-year sales forecast on Wednesday, on the back of resilient demand for its burritos and rice bowls despite higher menu prices. Shares of the company were up 3% at $3,015 in extended trading. They breached the $3,000 mark for the first time after the company approved…

Read More

IBM to buy HashiCorp in $6.4 billion deal to expand in cloud

By Arsheeya Bajwa (Reuters) -International Business Machines will buy HashiCorp in a deal valued at $6.4 billion, the company said on Wednesday, expanding its cloud-based software products to tap into an AI-powered boom in demand. Software has been a bright spot for IBM as its consulting business grapples with more cautious spending by enterprises navigating…

Read More

Visa results beat estimates on resilient consumer spending

By Manya Saini and Pritam Biswas (Reuters) -Visa’s second-quarter results sailed past Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as consumers shrugged off worries of a slowing economy to swipe cards on everything from travel to dining out, sending its shares up 2.7% after the bell. U.S. consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient despite higher-for-longer interest rates,…

Read More