Netflix shares slip 5% as DVD service axed

In today’s top stories, streaming giant Netflix has closed its DVD rental service after 25 years (image shows CEO Reed Hastings in 2002, in a cart full of ready-to-be-shipped DVDs). Elsewhere, chipmaking equipment supplier ASML reported an earnings beat but struck a cautious tone. Also in the Netherlands, restaurant delivery platform Just Eat has raised its 2023 guidance, but consumer appetite for deliveries is waning. Swedish kidney care specialist Diaverum, which is backed by Bridgepoint, is to be acquired by M42, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based AI firm G42 and Mubadala Investment Company. Lastly, China’s BYD has said that fully-autonomous vehicles are “basically impossible”.

ASML shares fall 5% amid cautious outlook

Dutch chipmaking equipment supplier ASML [ASML.AS] beat expectations with its first quarter (Q1) 2023 earnings, but struck a cautious tone, sending shares in Amsterdam down as much as 5%. “We continue to see mixed signals on demand from the different end-market segments as the industry works to bring inventory to more healthy levels,” CEO Peter Wennink said in a statement.

Order appetite wanes at Just Eat

Restaurant delivery platform Just Eat [JET.L] has raised its 2023 guidance and now expects adjusted EBITDA to be €275m, up from a previous target of €225m. Shares slumped more than 6% on Wednesday, however, as Q1 results showed that consumer appetite for deliveries is waning. The company has announced a €150m buyback programme, a few weeks after cutting 1,700 couriers, in an apparent bid to woo nervous investors.

Netflix shares slip 5% as DVD service axed

Streaming giant Netflix [NFLX] has closed its DVD rental service after 25 years, sending its shares down over 5% Wednesday. The news came as the company posted its Q1 2023 results, which showed it added 1.75 million new subscribers in the January to March period, below expectations of 2.3 million. Despite this, analysts at Deutsche Bank are bullish on Netflix’s outlook over the next 12 months.

Bridgepoint-backed dialysis firm set for buyout

Swedish kidney care specialist Diaverum, which is backed by Bridgepoint [BPT.L], is to be acquired for $2bn by M42, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based AI firm G42 and Mubadala Investment Company. M42 CEO Hasan Jasem Al Nowais said in a statement that Diaverum’s “pioneering digital care offering fully aligns with M42’s focus on leveraging advanced technological solutions to deliver precise, personalised patient care”.

BYD isn’t sold on self-driving tech

Fully-autonomous vehicles are “basically impossible” and the tech behind it would be better applied in factories and manufacturing, according to China’s BYD [1211.HK]. “We think self-driving tech that’s fully separated from humans is very, very far away,” a spokesperson said in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC. Elsewhere, Tesla [TSLA] rival and Swedish electric truck maker Einride has inked a deal with PepsiCo [PEP] to deliver Walker Crisps [WCW.L] in the UK.