As if there weren't enough news gushing from the stock market these days, tonight is buzzing with speculation that a big takeover attempt might be back in play -- albeit scaled down in scope.
After-hours traders are also buying and selling on the back of quarterly results, naturally, as it's still earnings season. One big name in the transport sector reported its figures after the closing bell, and action is hot in this stock.
Image source: Lyft.
Report: Broadcom and Symantec deal imminent
If a report from The Wall Street Journal published after market close today is accurate, semiconductor specialist Broadcom (AVGO 2.66%) and cybersecurity company Symantec (SYMC 3.32%) are on the brink of a buyout deal.
The article, citing "people familiar with the matter," has it that the two companies are close to signing an agreement under which Broadcom would purchase Symantec's enterprise business. According to those sources, such a deal could value the Symantec asset at roughly $10 billion.
This is a scaled-down version of a buyout that was proposed earlier this summer. Broadcom had made an offer to buy Symantec outright; late-stage negotiations were halted when the two couldn't reach an agreement on price.
The article's sources said a deal might be announced as soon as tomorrow, Thursday. Tomorrow also happens to be the day that Symantec will release its Q1 results.
Symantec is on fire in the downdraft of the report, since it's entirely realistic that the big-spending, clearly determined Broadcom is hungry for that enterprise unit. Symantec stock has risen by over 13% as of this writing. As for Broadcom, its shares are trading down tonight, but only marginally.
Lyft Q2: Solid beats, raised guidance
Another stock on the rise this evening is Lyft (LYFT 1.04%). The bellwether ridesharing company posted Q2 of fiscal 2019 results that trounced analyst estimates.
For the quarter, Lyft's revenue was $867 million, which was a mighty 72% improvement over the same quarter one year ago. Much of this was due to significant increases in ridership -- all told, Lyft's total number of active rides increased by 41%. Average revenue per rider was also up substantially, by 22%.
On the bottom line, Lyft's non-GAAP (adjusted) net loss deepened, although not to an alarming degree. It came in at $197 million, or $0.68 per share. The Q2 2018 shortfall was $177 million ($8.37).
Both figures were much better than the average analyst estimates of $809 million for revenue and a per-share net loss of $1.00.
On top of those beats, Lyft also tapped the gas pedal on its full-year revenue guidance. The company now expects to record $3.47 billion to $3.50 billion on the top line for the entirety of fiscal 2019. That's up from the former estimate of $3.28 billion to $3.30 billion.
Lyft did not provide bottom-line projections for the year. Instead, it increased its guidance for EBITDA. The new expected range for the line item is a loss of $850 million to $875 million. Previously this span was $1.15 billion to $1.18 billion.
The company's shares are up by 5% in after-market trading. Benefiting from its rival's encouraging fundamentals, shares of Uber (UBER 1.94%) are also gaining speed with a 4% rise so far this evening.
Although Uber is similarly deep in the red, hopes seem to be rising that it too will benefit from higher ridership throughout the industry. Uber is slated to release its Q2 results after market close tomorrow.
