Diamonds and Dogs

8/8/19

Lyft (LYFT) getting a lift. The ride-sharing stock is up 4% following better than expected earnings as sales rose 71% to $867.3 million. Lyft reported a number of key metrics that were better than expected including active ridership, revenue per active rider, and profitability. Though the company is still far from profitable, it expects to reduce its losses this year, which came as an encouraging sign to investors and analysts. Lyft received a number of upgrades with price targets as high as $79 a share.

 Kraft Heinz (KHC) down again. The stock is down 14% today and down 70% from the highs set in 2017 to a more than 10 year low following disappointing earnings. Kraft Heinz went through a merger in 2015 orchestrated by Warren Buffett and the private equity firm 3G Capital, but the management team has been a disaster. The CEO Miguel Patricio, just five weeks into his new role, told wary shareholders that the strategy under his predecessor didn't quite work. The level of decline experienced in the first half of this year is nothing the company should find acceptable moving forward. He fell short of laying out his own plan to revitalize the big brands like Oscar Mayer and Maxwell House that are out of step with modern consumers' tastes. He said Kraft Heinz needs a "comprehensive strategy" but that he didn't have enough confidence to issue guidance at this time. The company also withdrew its previous EBITDA guidance for the year.