Stock index futures showed slight declines on Friday, influenced by growing concerns over the financial health of regional banks. This environment led to notable premarket movements for several key companies: American Express, Salesforce, AST SpaceMobile, and Autoliv, each responding to specific corporate news, earnings reports, or analyst actions.
Key Takeaways
- American Express increased its 2025 earnings guidance after strong Q3 results.
- Salesforce faced a new class action lawsuit regarding AI training data.
- AST SpaceMobile experienced a two-notch downgrade from Barclays due to valuation concerns.
- Autoliv reported strong Q3 earnings but offered cautious full-year sales guidance.
American Express Raises Earnings Outlook After Strong Quarter
American Express (AXP) shares gained 1.1% in premarket trading. The financial services giant announced a positive adjustment to its 2025 earnings guidance, raising the lower end of its forecast. This follows a third-quarter earnings report that surpassed Wall Street expectations.
The company attributed its strong performance to increased cardholder spending, which fueled growth in its network volume. A significant factor in this success was the relaunch of its Platinum Card. The company stated that the relaunch's performance exceeded internal projections.
"Cardholder spending drove network volume growth, and the company's Platinum Card relaunch exceeded its expectations," a company statement indicated.
Fact Check
- American Express's Q3 earnings topped analyst consensus.
- Network volume growth was a key driver of financial performance.
- The Platinum Card relaunch contributed significantly to positive results.
Salesforce Faces AI Copyright Lawsuit
Salesforce (CRM) stock saw a slight dip of 0.4% before the market opened. The decline followed news of a proposed class action lawsuit against the company. Two authors, E. Molly Tanzer and Jennifer Gilmore, filed the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Salesforce used thousands of books without permission to train its artificial intelligence (AI) software. Specifically, the authors claim that their copyrighted works were used to train Salesforce's xGen AI series of large language models (LLMs) to process language. This legal challenge highlights growing concerns about data sourcing for AI development.
AI and Copyright Concerns
The use of copyrighted material to train AI models has become a significant legal and ethical issue across the technology industry. Many authors and content creators are questioning the legality of using their work without explicit consent or compensation for commercial AI applications.
AST SpaceMobile Downgraded by Barclays
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) shares dropped 3.8% in premarket trading. This decline came after Barclays, an equity research firm, downgraded the company's investment rating by two notches. The rating was lowered from "overweight" to "underweight."
Analyst Mathieu Robilliard provided the justification for the downgrade, stating that the stock is currently overvalued. Analyst downgrades can often impact investor sentiment and stock performance, especially for companies in emerging or high-growth sectors like space technology.
Analyst Perspective on Valuation
According to Robilliard, the current market price of AST SpaceMobile's stock does not reflect its fundamental value. This assessment suggests that the stock's price may be higher than what its financial prospects or industry comparisons justify, prompting a more cautious investment outlook.
Autoliv's Cautious Outlook Despite Q3 Beat
Autoliv (ALV) stock fell 0.7% before the opening bell. The automotive safety systems supplier reported a third quarter that exceeded analyst expectations. However, the company's full-year sales guidance for 2025 was slightly below what Wall Street had anticipated.
Autoliv also issued a warning about a "challenging operating environment" for the remainder of fiscal year 2025. This challenge is primarily attributed to ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and the potential for new or increased tariffs. Such external factors can significantly impact global supply chains and manufacturing costs for automotive suppliers.
Key Financials for Autoliv
- Q3 earnings were stronger than expected.
- Full-year 2025 sales guidance was slightly below analyst forecasts.
- Geopolitical risks and tariffs are cited as major concerns for 2025.
The company's cautious outlook reflects broader economic concerns impacting the automotive sector. Manufacturers are navigating complex global trade relations and fluctuating demand, making future projections more difficult.
