BMW Car Sales Held Back by China's Preference for Domestic EVs
Global group deliveries inched up 0.4% from a year earlier to 621,271 vehicles, the German manufacturer said Thursday. While the BMW and Mini brands saw gains in Europe and the US during the three months through June, deliveries in China dropped 14%.
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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Home Depot Navigates Traffic Decline, Reaffirms Annual Outlook
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 sales of $45.277 billion, up 4.9% from $43.175 billion a year earlier, but slightly below Wall Street's estimate of $45.356 billion. Comparable sales rose 1.0%, with U.S. comparable sales increasing 1.4%. Foreign exchange rates weighed on results, reducing companywide comparable sales by 40 basis points. Net earnings were $4.6 billion, or $4.58 per diluted share, compared with $4.6 billion, or $4.60 per share, in the prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $4.68, just above last year's $4.67 but short of the $4.71 consensus estimate. Also Read: 'Our second quarter results were in line with our expectations. The momentum that began in the back half of last year continued throughout the first half as customers engaged more broadly in smaller home improvement projects,' said Ted Decker, chair, president, and CEO. Operating income totaled $6.555 billion, with an operating margin of 14.5%, compared with $6.534 billion and 15.1% a year earlier. Adjusted operating income reached $6.694 billion, with an adjusted margin of 14.8%, down from $6.624 billion and 15.3% last year. Comparable customer transactions declined 0.4% on a same-store basis, while total customer transactions fell 0.9% to 446.8 million. The average ticket increased 1.4% to $90.01, offsetting some of the decline in traffic. For the first six months of fiscal 2025, net cash provided by operating activities was $8.968 billion, compared with $10.906 billion in the same period last year. Capital expenditures were $1.723 billion, acquisitions totaled $233 million, and dividends paid reached $4.574 billion. View more earnings on HD At the quarter's end, cash and cash equivalents were $2.804 billion, up from $1.613 billion a year earlier. Adjusted debt, which includes long-term borrowings, current maturities, and lease liabilities, declined to $61.321 billion from $64.612 billion in the prior year. Return on invested capital (ROIC) was 27.2% (down from 31.9% a year earlier), while adjusted debt-to-EBITDAR improved to 2.2x from 2.5x, supported by EBITDAR of $27.325 billion versus $26.005 billion last year. At the end of the quarter, Home Depot operated 2,353 retail stores and more than 800 branches, employing over 470,000 associates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and territories. Tariffs After the first-quarter release, CFO Richard McPhail had said the company had diversified its merchandise sourcing and would not raise prices despite higher tariffs. He added that, as higher interest rates slowed the housing market, Home Depot attracted more business from professional customers and expanded its reach through the acquisition of SRS Distribution, a distributor of roofing, pool, and landscaping supplies. While tariffs were not explicitly mentioned in the second-quarter earnings release, the company expanded its forward-looking statement compared to the fourth quarter 2024 to include risks tied to 'tariffs, trade policy changes or restrictions, or international trade disputes,' along with multiple references to supply chain diversification. Outlook Home Depot reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 outlook, guiding for approximately 2.8% sales growth and 1.0% comparable sales growth for the 52-week year. The company expects a gross margin of 33.4%, an operating margin of 13.0%, and an adjusted operating margin of 13.4%. Diluted EPS is projected to decline about 3% to $14.46, compared with the $14.62 consensus estimate, while adjusted diluted EPS is forecast at $14.94, down 2% from last year and below the $15.00 estimate. Full-year sales are expected to reach $163.980 billion, short of the $164.303 billion consensus, with capital expenditures at roughly 2.5% of sales. Price Action: HD shares were trading lower by 0.33% to $396.00 premarket at last check Tuesday. Read Next:Image via Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? HOME DEPOT (HD): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Home Depot Navigates Traffic Decline, Reaffirms Annual Outlook originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Which cars qualify for the electric vehicle grants of £1,500 and £3,750? The full list
No car currently on sale reportedly qualifies for the full electric car grant, with just 22 qualifying for a lower band discount. No car currently on sale reportedly qualifies for the full electric car grant, despite it being rolled out over a month ago. The £650 million grants were introduced on 16 July and offer a two-tier discount for electric vehicles under £37,000 – with band 1 cars getting the full £3,750 relief and band 2 models receiving a reduced £1,500 rate, based on sustainability criteria. However, only 22 cars are available for grants, and none of them are in higher discounted rate in band 1. Only the new Nissan Leaf and Citroen's e-C5 Aircross will be eligible for the full £3,750 grant – but neither one is yet on sale. Car dealers say this is stalling sales of EVs in showrooms as customers hold off purchases to see if their model will be offered a discount. Motoring expert Quentin Wilson told Yahoo News UK that the government's handling of the electric car grant has been 'dire' and accused the government of launching the grant 'without expert advice'. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said new car sales in July were down 5% and blamed 'external factors'. In July, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that drivers would be able to save £1,500 with the purchase of new Citroen e-C3, e-C4, e-C5 and e-Berlingo cars. The discount is automatically applied at the point of sale, and is part of the government's vow to make it cheaper to buy an electric car as part of its goal of banning the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030. Under the government's zero emission vehicle (Zev) mandate, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero emission, which generally means pure electric. Across all manufacturers, the figure during the first half of the year was 21.6%. What do we know about the new subsidies for EV drivers? The grants will be funded through a new £650m scheme announced on 14 July, which will be restricted to vehicles priced up to £37,000. The Department for Transport (DfT) said at the time that 23 new models were available for less than £30,000. Amounts given will be based on a car's 'sustainability criteria', the DfT said, with the greenest vehicles placed in band one, meaning a grant of up to £3,750. Band two vehicles will receive up to £1,500. Edmund King, AA president, said: 'This discount of £1,500 for some more affordable EVs will help a number of those with tighter budgets. We look forward to seeing the full list of discounts up to £3,750 on more models to really push the market forward.' Ian Plummer, commercial director of online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, previously said 'any incentives' to help people buy an electric car are welcome as many drivers are 'put off by the high upfront cost'. Prior to the government's announcement, The Telegraph reported that the grants would provide a huge boost for Nissan, which has a plant in Sunderland, but would be unlikely to help Tesla, whose cars are generally beyond the scheme's price range. Which cars qualify? Band 1 cars The maximum discount available for cars assessed as Band 1 is £3,750. There are no cars eligible for a Band 1 discount currently. Band 2 cars The maximum discount available for cars assessed as Band 2 is £1,500. The eligible vehicles are: Citroën ë-C3 and Citroën ë-C3 Aircross Citroën ë-C4 and Citroën ë-C4 X Citroën ë-C5 Aircross Citroën ë-Berlingo Cupra Born Nissan Ariya Nissan Micra Peugeot E-208 Peugeot E-2008 Peugeot E-Rifter Renault 4 Renault 5 Renault Alpine A290 Renault Megane Renault Scenic Vauxhall Astra Electric Vauxhall Combo Life Electric Vauxhall Corsa Electric Vauxhall Frontera Electric Vauxhall Grandland Electric Vauxhall Mokka Electric Volkswagen ID.3 How has the industry reacted? With no vehicles currently fitting into the higher discounted rate band, motoring experts have blasted the rollout. Motoring expert Quentin Wilson told Yahoo News UK: 'The government's handling of the £650m electric car grant has been dire. Instead of stimulating EV sales, it's had the opposite effect of making potential buyers hold off, waiting for the £3,750 grant - which no EV currently qualifies for. 'Dealers, industry bodies, journalists and consumers all agree the ECG is confusing, complicated and badly crafted. 'The government did not consult with the car industry lobby group, the SMMT, or independent EV industry experts like myself, but launched the grant without expert advice. There's a real risk that this clumsy, ill-informed and badly executed initiative will harm EV adoption and disappoint potential EV buyers.' Wilson questioned why there was no support for used EVs or reducing the VAT on public charging, adding: 'There was so much else that could have been done to boost EV take up.' SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes called for 'consumer certainty' around the grant, while Neil McCue, director of the large south coast-based franchised car dealer group Snows, branded the grant 'ill thought out'. He said: 'We have seen customers holding off buying electric cars in July and we're seeing it again in August. They're all asking for their £3,750 discount and we can't give it to them.' Peter Smyth, director of car dealer group Swansway, called the scheme 'shambolic' and said it was causing 'too much confusion' in showrooms. He added: 'There should have been a simple VAT cut on all electric cars under £37,000 which would have been simple to implement and importantly available from the day of launch.' How many people are buying EVs? In the first half of this year, electric car sales in the UK increased by a third, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMTT) lobby group. Sales of battery electric cars rose by 34.6% to 224,838 vehicles between the start of January and the end of June. Of the 191,200 cars sold in the UK in June, a quarter (almost 47,400) were electric vehicles. The government wants to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 onwards, although hybrids can be sold until 2035. It says all new cars and vans will have to be 100% zero emission by 2035. How much more expensive are electric cars to buy? The average cost to buy an electric car in the UK is currently about £46,000, according to financial researchers NimbleFins, although it says that prices range from £14,995 (for a Dacia Spring Electric) to as much as £330,000 for a Rolls-Royce Spectre. Among luxury electric brands such as Tesla, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes, the average cost is about £69,000, while a non-luxury EV is about £33,000 on average. NimbleFins said the cost of an average small car is about £22,000, rising to £27,000 for a medium-sized car and £35,000 for an SUV, inclusive of petrol and electric models. The Electric Car Scheme says the average petrol car costs £21,964, compared to about £49,000 for an EV. How much do electric vehicles cost to run? The average cost of running a car in the UK is £3,357, according to NimbleFins. This includes fuel, car insurance, repairs, road tax and the purchase or depreciation per year. It said that despite electricity prices currently being high, fuel costs much less with an EV than a petrol or diesel engine. The average cost for a mile of driving is about 7p on a standard electricity tariff or as low as 2p per mile on a time of use EV tariff, charging the vehicle at off-peak times, such as during the night. For a petrol or diesel car, NimbleFins says the cost of fuel per mile can be anything between 13p and 17p. The Electric Car Scheme says drivers of EVs can save up to £1,500 per year over 10,000 miles in fuel costs than with a petrol or diesel. Read more Major problem with plan to let EV drivers charge outside their homes (BristolLive) China's electric car revolution hammers demand for oil (The Telegraph) Volkswagen reports electric vehicles sales surge in 2025 (DW)
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Options Expands Private AI Infrastructure with Iceland Data Center Deployment
NEW YORK & LONDON & REYKJAVIK, Iceland, August 19, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Options Technology (Options), the leading provider of capital markets infrastructure, today announced a strategic private cloud expansion into Iceland with a new AI-optimized datacenter deployment. This move marks a significant step forward in supporting clients' security and high-performance computing needs while dramatically reducing operational costs and advancing environmental sustainability goals. As one of the earliest private cloud providers in capital markets, Options continues to lead through innovation, with today's announcement reinforcing its commitment to performance, resilience, and secure service delivery. This deployment is in direct response to increasing demand from Options' clients, including hedge funds, investment banks, and proprietary trading firms, seeking to scale secure AI workloads without compromising on privacy, compliance, or ESG commitments. Danny Moore, President and CEO, commented, "Our investment in Iceland is about more than just infrastructure; it's about future-proofing the next generation of financial services. As the industry accelerates its adoption of private AI and large-scale compute, we are ensuring our clients have access to secure, scalable, and sustainable environments that align with their performance and ESG goals." The Iceland facility is designed for high-density private AI workloads, offering a 72% reduction in per kVA costs compared to traditional U.S. sites. Powered entirely by renewable energy, it delivers exceptional compute performance while allowing clients to report zero carbon emissions. Additional benefits include liquid cooling infrastructure, closed-loop water systems, and sub-100ms connectivity to both Europe and North America via redundant submarine cables. This facility marks the first phase in a broader infrastructure modernization program, with further high-density, private AI-ready environments planned across key financial hubs in 2025 and beyond. This expansion also reflects broader industry trends with the global generative AI market in financial services projected to reach $15.7 billion by 2034, with financial institutions increasingly requiring secure, compliant environments to deploy AI at scale. Today's announcement builds on a series of recent milestones for Options, including its recognition in the Broadcom/VMware Global Partner Program, the expansion of its Cambridge operations to support growing demand for market data services, and the extension of its Microsoft Cloud Solution Partner capabilities into Dubai. Together, these developments reinforce Options' commitment to delivering secure, scalable, and sustainable infrastructure at the heart of the world's financial markets. Options Technology: Options Technology (Options) is a financial technology company at the forefront of banking and trading infrastructure. We serve clients globally with offices in New York, London, Paris, Belfast, Cambridge, Chicago, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, Sydney and Auckland. At Options, our services are woven into the hottest trends in global technology, including high-performance Networking, Cloud, Security, and AI (Artificial Intelligence). View source version on Contacts For media inquiries, please contact Niall McAleer,
