DDAIF - Daimler AG
| Previous Close | 45.15 |
| Open | 45.25 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 45.23 - 46.08 |
| 52 Week Range | 44.80 - 68.01 |
| Volume | 30,121 |
| Avg. Volume | 52,819 |
| Market Cap | 49.296B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.04 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 4.67 |
| EPS (TTM) | 9.87 |
| Earnings Date | N/A |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 3.64 (8.07%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-05-23 |
| 1y Target Est | 66.95 |
- Bloomberg
Amazon, Swatch, Daimler and the Risks of a Global Recession
(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Investors are bracing for a significant downturn in the world economy, cutting earnings estimates amid a market sell-off. While all cyclical industries face some form of risks, some companies within each sector are more vulnerable than others as the outlook deteriorates.In recent recessions, technology and finance were the triggers -- the internet bubble caused the 2000 market crash and subprime lending led to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis that spread to housing, manufacturing and consumer demand.“The financial sector was leading in 2002-2007. In this cycle, it’s the tech sector,” said Bloomberg Chief Equity Strategist Gina Martin Adams. Still, she cautioned that in spite of the warning signs, it may be too early to predict a recession, adding that “tech is the strength of the economy.”Here are five global companies that may stand to lose more than others:AmazonAmazon.com Inc. is among the most cyclical U.S. internet companies because the Seattle-based e-commerce giant relies heavily on consumer spending. It’s also been building its employee base, adding more than 600,000 jobs and hundreds of huge warehouses to store and ship products. Some of those costs are fixed, while others may be hard to reduce quickly if there’s a steep economic decline. It also faces regulatory risks.“Amazon’s near-term growth may be at risk as macroeconomic conditions worsen, regulatory scrutiny rises and spending cycles spark concern,” Jitendra Waral and April Kim, analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a recent note. “If demand were to slow amid Amazon’s increased spending on logistics, profit would face a double whammy.”One of Amazon’s fastest-growing new businesses -- digital advertising -- is also susceptible to economic ups and downs. Still, Amazon is riding a broad e-commerce growth trend that is unlikely to reverse during a recession.SwatchMakers of luxury items tend to endure more risks in a recession than producers of mass-market consumer goods. This time around, the effects would be compounded by U.S.-China trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong, which has already hurt the city’s economic outlook.Swatch Group AG, the biggest maker of Swiss timepieces, has more exposure to Hong Kong than any other luxury company, generating more than a third of the group’s sales in the Greater China region, according to Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox. The maker of Omega watches also has a smaller presence in the steadier luxury categories of jewelry and fashion than rival Richemont, which owns brands including Chloe, Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier.The high-end segment has also been far less elastic in a downturn. In 2009, Swiss watch exports slumped 22% amid the financial crisis.So far, the economic slowdown in China has done little to damp the appetite of Chinese consumers for luxury goods. But watchmakers are feeling the effects of the sometimes violent demonstrations in Hong Kong, their largest export market. Timepiece sales there could plunge as much as 40% in the second half, Cox said.Swatch also faces sluggish watch sales in Europe. If the U.S. takes a turn for the worse, the industry could be hit by a reversal of the recovery in its second-biggest market.Swatch ExportsDaimlerThe German corporate giant just doesn’t just face a slowdown in its home market -- it also has substantial exposure to a potential downturn in the U.S. The automaker produces two high-margin SUVs in Alabama and its Freightliner division is the leader in the North American heavy-truck market. Demand for transportation of goods tends to closely mirror broader economic swings and analysts say heavy-truck sales in the region have peaked following years of robust growth.Daimler AG relies on the U.S. for about a quarter of the group’s revenue last year. That’s more than Germany or China, where it operates a joint venture with BAIC.After two back-to-back profit warnings following their debut in May, Daimler’s new leadership duo has vowed to improve efficiency. Profitability at the Mercedes-Benz passenger-car division has been sub-par compared with its peers, and the car unit is up against waning demand in its two biggest markets by volume: China and the U.S.CaesarsAn economic downturn could be particularly ill-timed for Caesars Entertainment Corp. The largest owner of casinos in the U.S. is about to increase its debt load again to finance a megadeal, after struggling for years to recover from a 2008 leveraged buyout that left it saddled with debt at the height of the Great Recession. (Caesars ended up putting its largest division into bankruptcy to clean up its balance sheet.)Caesars is set to merge with Eldorado Resorts Inc. early next year in a deal that involves $8.2 billion in new financing, amid rising competition from new casinos, both online and at its properties. Unlike some of its peers that focus more on luxury, such as Wynn Resorts Ltd., Caesars operates a lot of casinos in small markets including Tunica, Mississippi, and Metropolis, Illinois. Combined with Eldorado, it will have 60 owned, operated and managed casino–resorts across 16 states.And even the Las Vegas Strip, once considered invincible as a gambling destination, has yet to see casino revenue return to its 2007 high.Toll BrothersA major economic slowdown would almost certainly hit home sales and prices for builders like Toll Brothers Inc. “If we do go into a recession, housing isn’t going to be the cause,” said Drew Reading, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s going to be the victim.”The bigger challenge for the industry right now is affordability, especially in high-cost metros on the West Coast. Toll Brothers, the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, has been trying to diversify geographically. But it’s still highly reliant on California, where it got nearly a third of its revenue last year.One the plus side: Single-family housing starts still haven’t returned to historical levels more than a decade after the financial crisis, which means homebuilders won’t be sitting on as much supply if the economy takes a turn for the worst.\--With assistance from Christoph Rauwald, Kevin Miller, Corinne Gretler, Noah Buhayar, Ian King, Christopher Palmeri and Alistair Barr.To contact the reporter on this story: Cécile Daurat in Wilmington at cdaurat@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Linus Chua, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Benzinga
First Freightliner eCascadias Readied For Customer Testing
Daimler Trucks North America will deliver the first two battery electric-powered Class 8 eCascadia trucks to fleets in Southern California in late August. About a million heavy-duty diesel trucks operate in California each year. The two Freightliner trucks were assembled at Daimler's research and development center in Portland, Oregon.
- TechCrunch
Proterra, the Tesla of electric buses, closes in on $1 billion valuation
Proterra has authorized shares to raise $75 million, a new round of fundingthat would push the electric bus maker's valuation past $1 billion, TechCrunchhas learned
- Reuters
Mercedes-Benz offers subsidies to retrofit older diesel cars in Germany
Daimler said on Tuesday Mercedes-Benz customers in Germany could apply for a 3,000 euro ($3,350) subsidy to upgrade the exhaust filters of older, polluting diesel vehicles, the latest effort among German carmakers to avoid inner-city bans. Carmakers have been forced to consider upgrading exhaust treatment systems on older cars after German cities started banning heavily polluting diesel vehicles to cut fine particulate matter and toxic nitrogen oxides.
- Reuters
GM faces declining sales and price wars in largest markets
General Motors Co's investors will see on Thursday how the Detroit carmaker is weathering declining sales and mounting price pressures in its largest markets when it reports second-quarter earnings. Slumping industry demand in China, the world's largest auto market, and an escalating price war in the lucrative U.S. pickup truck segment are ratcheting up the pressure on GM. Other automakers, including U.S. rival Ford Motor Co and Germany's Daimler AG , offered disappointing forecasts last week.
- Benzinga
Today's Pickup: Over 1,100 Fracking Wells In The Permian Basin Went Unreported In 2018
The data from Kayrros showed that more than 1,100 wells remained unreported – a mismatch that could have serious repercussions on the available spare production capacity in the U.S. shale oil market. "We learned Alibaba's anti-counterfeiting policies and programs are significantly more effective than any of their U.S. counterparts.
- Motley Fool
Diesel Woes Drive a Big Loss for Mercedes-Benz Parent Daimler AG
Wrangling over emissions is proving to be very expensive.
- Benzinga
Truck Sales A Bright Spot In Daimler's First Quarterly Loss In A Decade
Daimler AG (OTC: DMLRY) reported its first quarterly loss in a decade on Wednesday (July 24) because of one-time charges related to Takata airbag inflators in Mercedes-Benz cars and legal risks for ongoing diesel emissions investigations in Germany. Daimler is the Stuttgart, Germany-based parent company of Mercedes-Benz cars and Daimler Trucks, the world's largest commercial truck and bus maker. Group sales declined 1 percent to 822,000 passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks and buses.
- MarketWatch
Automaker Daimler says it lost $1.3 billion on diesel vehicles and air bag recalls
Daimler AG (DMLRY) , the maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, says it lost 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in the second quarter as the company booked 4.2 billion euros in one-time charges for troubles with diesel vehicles and air bag recalls. The quarterly loss reported Wednesday was the company’s first since 2009 and a bumpy start for new CEO Ola Kallenius, who took over from Dieter Zetsche on May 22 and since then has had to issue two profit warnings. The Stuttgart-based company is under investigation in Germany and the U.S. and faces U.S. civil lawsuits in connection with its cars’ diesel emissions.
- Barrons.com
Mercedes and Peugeot owners see shares accelerate after earnings updates
Peugeot maker PSA defied the global auto slowdown with a 10.6% profit rise in the first half of the year, while Daimler’s stock rose on a more upbeat outlook
- Bloomberg
Daimler to Step Up Cost Cutting to Tackle Flagging Returns
(Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG’s new leadership duo vowed to accelerate an overhaul with a slimmer model line-up and stronger focus on generating cash after two rapid-succession profit warnings following their debut in May.Some of the measures will begin bearing fruit in the second half of the year with profit and cash flow anticipated to “improve significantly,” Daimler said Wednesday as it reported earnings following its outlook cut on July 12.While the German automaker said it would step up efforts to boost efficiency across the group -- including a plan to restore eroding margins at the main Mercedes-Benz cars division -- new Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius asked for patience. On a call with analysts Wednesday, he said Daimler would provide details later this year. Shares rose as much as 2.9% in Frankfurt trading.It’s been a humbling start for Kallenius, a Daimler lifer, and his finance chief Harald Wilhelm, who joined from Airbus SE. Daimler expects profit before some items to be significantly lower than a year ago due to weaker markets, delays on rolling out upgraded models and higher provisions, including the fallout from diesel-emissions investigations.Automakers are facing unprecedented investments to develop electric vehicles and roll out new digital services like ride-sharing that undermine traditional business of selling privately owned cars. Kallenius said the industry’s fundamental transformation will last “for many, many years.” As the changes rewrite the industry’s playbook, the new CEO remains “very open” for more cooperation projects with other manufacturers and technology firms to share costs.Daimler earlier this month reported a 1.6 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) second-quarter operating loss, after raising provisions, including ongoing diesel investigations, to 4.2 billion euros. Annual revenue will be slightly higher than a year ago, while vehicle sales will be about the same as 2018. The numbers published Wednesday came a day after Chinese joint-venture partner Beijing Automotive Group Co. emerged as Daimler’s third-biggest shareholder.The latest warning puts greater urgency on the new management team to show they can lift poor returns. Profitability at the Mercedes unit may fall to as low as 3% this year, a far cry from the 8.7% margin posted by Peugeot maker PSA Group in the first half. The French peer operates in the less lucrative mass-market segment and relies heavily on European sales. Mercedes stuck to a margin target between 8% and 10%, but Kallenius didn’t say when it can be reached.“Given the volume of difficult stuff arriving in their in-trays, we’d assume neither Kaellenius or Wilhelm -- nor their wider executive team -- will be getting much of a summer break,” Sanford Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said in a note. “We’d expect most investors to wait until the new team lays out its plans in November and even then, the cyclical and structural pressures on the sector may limit enthusiasm.”Daimler is battling slower demand for new cars in markets including China and the U.S., but Kallenius said vehicle availability should improve in coming months after the model changeover of the high-margin GLE sport utility vehicle was hit by output constraints triggered by a supplier in the U.S. Adding to the operating woes are higher-than-expected cost for ramping up a joint Mexican factory with Nissan Motor Co. and expenses for culling a plan to build the Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup in Argentina, which casts doubt over the model’s future.The operating woes have put Daimler on the back foot amid efforts toward a broad corporate revamp to establish three legally independent units for cars, trucks and mobility services. Beyond the organizational overhaul, Daimler will weed out its vast range of vehicle and engine variants to focus on the ones that generate the best returns.“That’s how you trim this tree,” Kallenius said. Reducing complexity to slash cost will be critical to revive earnings and strengthen the manufacturer’s financial muscle. “We need a mindset shift toward cash.”(Updates with CEO comments in third paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Elisabeth Behrmann at ebehrmann1@bloomberg.net, Chris ReiterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Daimler vows to cut costs after one-offs bring loss
Luxury carmaker Daimler said it would intensify cost cuts after legal risks for diesel-related issues and the cost of replacing Takata airbags triggered a 1.56 billion euros ($1.74 billion) loss before interest and taxes in the second quarter. The company reduced its sales outlook for Mercedes-Benz cars and said 4.2 billion euros in one-off expenses hit earnings, mainly at the cars and vans divisions, contributing to an operating loss at group level, compared with a 2.6 billion profit in the second quarter last year. Daimler pledged to cut costs in response but provided few details under new Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius, who took up the top job two months ago.
- Bloomberg
China's BAIC Takes 5% Stake in Daimler to Boost Partnership
(Bloomberg) -- One of Germany’s most storied industrial icons just became more Chinese.Daimler AG’s Chinese partner, state-backed Beijing Automotive Group Co., is buying a 5% take in the Mercedes-Benz maker, cementing a more than decade long alliance of the auto manufacturers. Together with Daimler’s top shareholder -- Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.’s billionaire owner Li Shufu -- the transaction would take Chinese ownership in the world’s biggest luxury-car maker to almost 15%.“This step reinforces our successful partnership and is a signal of trust in the strategy and future potential of our company,” Daimler Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius said.Daimler shares rose as much as 5.2% in Frankfurt trading, after declining 15% in the past 12 months. The company, due to release detailed earnings Wednesday, has issued four profit warnings in just over a year after markets weakened and the carmaker increased provisions for charges including for the financial fallout from investigations into alleged tampering of diesel emissions.The string of bad news underscores an urgency for the new CEO to show he can lift poor returns. BAIC’s investment is another example of how carmakers fight for survival by forging deeper partnerships as new technologies and regulations upend the industry. Profit margins at the core Mercedes-Benz cars division are expected to fall as low as 3% this year, trailing typically lower-returning mass-market carmakers like PSA Group.Beijing-BackedAbout half of the stake being taken by BAIC, which is backed by Beijing’s municipal government, is linked to unspecified financial instruments, according to a statement. The 5% holding has a market value of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) as of Monday close.Another Chinese shareholder at one of Germany’s automotive giants could stir concerns in Europe about China’s influence, while carmakers already battle a trade war that has left global shipments of cars at the mercy of tit-for-tat tariff measures. China and the U.S. are the two largest markets for Mercedes-Benz. BAIC’s transaction also raises the question of whether Daimler and BAIC may reorganize their joint venture in China after restrictions for foreign investors in the world’s largest auto market eased.“Despite all joy about long-term anchor shareholders: we still want to see the Mercedes star and not the Chinese dragon on the hood,” Ingo Speich from Deka Investment GmbH said at Daimler’s annual meeting in May. Deka, which represents some 9 million Daimler shares, is against granting BAIC or Geely a seat on the company’s supervisory board due to potential conflict of interest.China Sees Something in Daimler We’ve All Missed: David FicklingChinese investments in German companies have had a mixed record. HNA Group Co. plans to divest its stake in Deutsche Bank AG after becoming the ailing bank’s top investor, marking the unwinding of one of the most high-profile investments made during a multi-year acquisition spree. Last year, Germany blocked a Chinese investor from buying machine tool manufacturer Leifeld Metal Spinning AG after a public backlash in the wake of Midea Group’s controversial purchase of robot maker Kuka AG in 2016.For its part, BAIC views the purchase as a natural evolution of its relationship with Daimler.“It has been our intention to strengthen our alliance with Daimler through an investment,” said Heyi Xu, chairman of BAIC. “This step reinforces our alignment with, and strong support for, Daimler’s management and strategy.”While China is already the world’s biggest car market, it’s coping with its first contraction in a generation, prompting automakers to take steps to expand overseas. For BAIC, maintaining ties with Daimler is strategically important as its joint venture with Hyundai Motor Co. has been struggling and its own domestic brands are burning cash as the trade spat with the U.S. weighs on demand for new vehicles.Cooperation with Western brands gives the Chinese companies potential access to technical expertise and instant credibility as they seek to win over consumers in Europe and the U.S. Even so, BAIC is already China’s biggest producers of electric cars.“Run by politically-minded management, BAIC is comfortably the lowest quality company under our coverage,” Sanford Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu said in a recent note to clients. With growth slowing and margins squeezed “we’d expect the company’s problems to look increasingly exposed,” he said.While BAIC is a government-controlled entity, it’s supervised by the Beijing branch of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and doesn’t belong to a group of central state-owned enterprises.Geely TiesDaimler is exploring additional cooperation projects with Geely, former CEO Dieter Zetsche said at the company’s annual general meeting in May and sought to allay concerns about potential conflicts with BAIC. His successor Kallenius said in January he’s “open to talk” about more collaboration with industry peers and technology firms to share surging development cost.Geely declined to comment on the BAIC investment. The Chinese automaker in February last year disclosed a 9.7% in Daimler it had amassed through complex derivative transactions known as collar trades. The strategy allowed Geely to build up the stake quickly while potentially avoiding breaching German rules that require shareholders to disclose holdings exceeding 3%.Li has sought to harvest synergies from his investments, which include Sweden’s Volvo Cars to improve Geely’s product lineup and move to higher-end models. Geely formed a joint venture with Daimler to transform the German company’s diminutive Smart into an all-electric brand based in China. Other major Chinese interests in foreign carmakers include Tencent Holding Ltd.’s 4.7% stake in Tesla Inc. while Dongfeng Motor Corp. is PSA’s second-biggest holder with a 12% shareholding.Since 2003, BAIC and Daimler have set up a number of cooperations in China, including the joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Company that produces premium cars in the country, as well as separate entities that make vans and trucks. Daimler has a 9.6% stake in the BAIC’s Hong Kong-listed unit, BAIC Motor Corp.(Adds detail on Daimler earnings in fourth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Ville Heiskanen, Jinshan Hong and Dong Lyu.To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net, Elisabeth BehrmannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
China's BAIC buys 5% Daimler stake to cement alliance
FRANKFURT/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd (BAIC) has bought a 5% stake in Daimler, cementing their long-standing alliance after China's Geely emerged as a potential rival by also taking a stake in the German automaker. BAIC has been Daimler's main partner in China for years, operating Mercedes-Benz factories in Beijing through Beijing Benz Automotive.
- Reuters
Daimler, Bosch get approval to test driverless valet parking
Daimler and auto supplier Bosch will start valet parking using autonomous driving technology in Stuttgart, Germany, after local authorities gave the carmaker permission to start testing the technology. The automated valet parking service will start at the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage, using infrastructure provided by Bosch and vehicle technology from Daimler, Bosch said. It will be the first fully automated driverless system categorized as "Level 4" automation which has been approved for everyday use, Bosch said.
- TechCrunch
Daimler and Bosch's driverless parking gets OK to operate without human supervision
We've reached a new milestone in the long road to getting AI-based self-driving systems to be truly autonomous
- Engadget
Daimler and Bosch inch closer to fully automated, self-driving valet service
Daimler has plans for self-driving trucks , autonomous taxis and cars that drive themselves on the autobahn . Now, it's moving forward with its vision to bring fully automated, driverless parking to the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage in Stuttgart, Germany. The system, a joint effort with Bosch, will allow visitors to park their autonomous vehicles with a few taps of an app.
