3. Tesla's margin crunch
Tesla beat on the top and bottom lines when it reported earnings after the bell Wednesday, but weak profit margin numbers and a warning about a production slowdown appeared to drag on the stock during off-hours trading. “We continue to target 1.8 million vehicle deliveries this year, but expect Q3 production will be a little bit down because we’ve got summer shutdowns for a lot of factory upgrades,” CEO Elon Musk said. While the EV maker has of late delivered more vehicles to customers, much of it has been driven by price cuts. That, in turn, has squeezed Tesla’s operating and gross margins, which hit their lowest level in at least five quarters, CNBC’s Lora Kolodny reports.
4. Medtech lifts J&J
Johnson & Johnson raised its outlook for the year as it posted higher-than-expected second quarter revenue Thursday morning. The company benefited from growth in medtech sales, which was the result of an increase in non-urgent surgeries that were put off during the pandemic. The positive report and higher guidance come as J&J’s stock has been struggling. It’s down about 10% so far this year through Wednesday’s close, compared with broader market gains.
5. Russia hits Ukraine's ports
Russian forces continued to assault Ukrainian ports following the Kremlin’s exit from the Black Sea grain deal. The attacks have raised further concerns about global food supplies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russians targeted areas that store about a million tons of food. Russian officials, meanwhile, have said that they would consider any vessel sailing to Ukrainian ports a carrier of military cargo. Follow live war updates.
— CNBC’s Mike Calia wrote this newsletter. Hakyung Kim, Lillian Rizzo, Alex Sherman, Lora Kolodny, Annika Kim Constantino and Jenni Reid contributed.
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