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It cannot be denied that the strong desire to get back to normal is there, fueling the demand for travel and entertainment. But as the Delta variant crosses the United States, Wall Street faces a difficult question: Will the recovery really go the way companies have planned?
A slew of companies considered “salvage stocks” released results this week – and what they reveal is promising.
Live Nation said June was Ticketmaster’s fourth best month in North America with more concerts going on sale in the United States than ever before. Shares are up 4% in pre-market.
But executives admit that the spread of the Delta variant poses a risk.
“I would like to remind investors that while the decline in Covid cases counts in [the second quarter] Fueled a rebound in our business, the pandemic is not yet over, especially with emerging variants and a return of restrictions in some markets, ”said Brian Roberts, chief financial officer of Lyft. volatility and variability between cities. Future conditions can change quickly and can impact our outlook. “
New York City said on Wednesday it would require vaccines to enter restaurants and gyms, while Las Vegas is back under mask warrant.
Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg said he was still optimistic.
“What is happening now with the mask mandate is much less onerous in terms of the restrictions that we addressed in the last quarter,” he said.
However, these stocks may start to be more difficult to sell, depending on how the situation develops. Caesars stock is up nearly 17% year-to-date, but has fallen 6% last week and 15% last month.
Activision Blizzard is in turmoil. Here’s what you need to know
The game company behind “Call of Duty”, “World of Warcraft” and “Candy Crush” is doing solid business.
But that’s not why it made the headlines. Activision Blizzard has been rocked by a scandal over its response to a discrimination lawsuit in California, which triggered an employee walkout.
Catch up: It all started with a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Employment and Housing alleging a “frat boy” work culture where many female employees were discriminated against on the basis of sex, sexual harassment and unequal pay.
The company’s efforts to portray the prosecution’s claims as “inaccurate” and “distorted” only made matters worse. More than 2,000 current and former workers signed a petition calling the response “odious and insulting,” while dozens of employees staged a walkout at the company’s Irvine, Calif. Campus (and hundreds others joined virtually).
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, an industry veteran who became CEO of Activision in 1991, tried to turn the heat down, admitting in a note to employees last week that the initial response from the company had been “deaf”.
On Tuesday, the company announced that J. Allen Brack, president of the company’s Blizzard Entertainment studio, would be stepping down – the first high-profile departure.
But the fallout is already rippling through the gaming world, the tech industry and American businesses, where workers feel more empowered to speak out about working conditions, writes my CNN Business colleague Rishi Iyengar. Even with the rest of the business on the right track, Kotick’s job may not be secure.
Split Screen: “In terms of our financial performance, we are pleased that the company continued to deliver strong second quarter results and we are raising our outlook for the year,” Kotick said in a statement Tuesday. “We remain intensely focused on the well-being of our employees and we are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that our company has a welcoming, supportive and safe environment. “
Tyson employee vaccine requirement stands out
A number of large companies are moving forward with such mandates. But so far, most only apply to corporate employees, not frontline workers in stores or factories, writes my CNN Business colleague Nathaniel Meyersohn.
See here: Tech companies like Google and Facebook and banks like Morgan Stanley and Jefferies are implementing vaccine requirements for office workers. But workers in industries like retail, restaurants and manufacturing, who are exposed to colleagues and customers on a daily basis, are largely exempt from such mandates.
Tyson takes a different approach as the Delta variant hits the United States. The company, whose vaccine needs are being negotiated with meat-packing plants represented by unions, said only half of its workforce had been vaccinated so far.
Such decrees could become more common as companies try to keep their operations running smoothly. But for now, many companies are moving cautiously, especially since they are already struggling with labor shortages.
Employers have not put in place similar mandates for hourly workers as they fear some will quit rather than get vaccinated at a time when it is difficult to hire workers, said Brian Kropp, head of the workforce. human resources research at Gartner, a business research and consulting firm.
The latest: Target, Home Depot and McDonald’s will force their employees to wear masks in many of their stores, regardless of their immunization status. Walmart, meanwhile, is requiring company employees and regional managers based in the United States to be vaccinated by Oct. 4, but has not issued the same warrant for store and warehouse workers.
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Also today :
- ADP’s private employment report is released at 8:15 a.m.ET.
- The ISM non-manufacturing index, which tracks the U.S. service sector, arrives at 10 a.m. ET.
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