Dow Jones Today: Futures Slip Ahead of Apple Event, Google Antitrust Case

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WestRock Stock On a Tear After Smurfit Kappa Deal

34 minutes ago

Packaging company WestRock’s (WRK) shares rose more than 5% Tuesday morning after a merger announcement with Dublin-based Smurfit Kappa to create the world’s largest listed paper and packaging company by revenue.

The two companies’ combined revenue in the last fiscal year was $34 billion, and adjusted core profit was $5.5 billion. The new company, Smurfit WestRock, will be worth about $20 billion when listed.

Common stockholders of WestRock will receive a share of the new company plus $5 in cash for each share they own, adding up to $43.5 per share based on yesterday’s closing price of Smurfit Kappa ordinary shares. Smurfit Kappa investors will receive one share of the new company for each share they own.

-Fatima Attarwala

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

1 hr 26 min ago

Gainers:

WestRock Co. (WRK): Shares of the paper and packaging company gained more than 7% after it signed a deal to merge with Europe’s Smurfit Kappa to create a $20 billion global packaging giant.
Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN): Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange rose 2% as the price of Bitcoin rebounded after plummeting to a three-month low yesterday. Shares of other cryptocurrency companies followed, with Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) climbing 5% premarket.
Stellantis N.V. (STLA): The carmaker’s shares gained almost 2% after it said it was making progress in contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Stellantis, General Motors (GM), and Ford (F) have until Friday to reach a deal with the union to avoid a possible strike.

Losers:

Oracle (ORCL): Shares of the software provider fell more than 9% after it missed Wall Street sales estimates in the most recent quarter and offered a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast for the current quarter.
AerCap Holdings N.V. (AER): Shares lost more than 3% after it said General Electric Co. (GE) would sell a stake in the aircraft leasing company worth about $2.4 billion in a public offering.
United Parcel Services Inc. (UPS): Shares slipped more than 1% after CEO Carol Tome said the shipping and delivery company’s new contract with the Teamsters labor union would not cost the $30 billion the union says it will. Tome said the wage increases guaranteed by the five-year contract represent a 3.3% compound annual growth rate.

5 Things to Know Before Markets Open

1 hr 49 min ago

Here’s what investors need to know to start their day:

Apple’s (AAPL) “Wonderlust” event begins at 1 p.m. ET. The tech giant is set to release an updated iPhone 15, which is expected to feature a change to the USB-C charging port, as well as an upgraded camera and titanium design in some models.
Oracle (ORCL) shares plummeted more than 9% in pre-market trading after the cloud database company reported guidance that fell short of analyst expectations, as cloud licensing, services, and hardware revenue streams came in lower than forecasted.
Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) dipped 0.4% in pre-market trading as the company goes on trial today in Washington on Justice Department charges it violated antitrust laws.
Casey’s General Stores (CASY) shares jumped more than 2% as the convenience store chain topped analyst earnings estimates on the success of sales of its whole pizza pies and the launch of its thin-crust pizzas.
Shares of WestRock Co. (WRK) shares moved higher by more than 8% after it signed a merger agreement with Smurfit Kappa Group, creating a global paper and packaging company worth $20 billion.

-Terry Lane

Futures Slip Ahead of Apple Event, Google Antitrust Case

2 hr 10 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% lower in premarket trading Tuesday.

S&P 500 futures lost a quarter of a percentage point.

And Nasdaq 100 contracts were down 0.3%.