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 (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Be careful what you wish for.You might think that the Trump administration banning Chinese ownership of video-sharing app TikTok in the U.S. on national security grounds would be a win for social-media competitors such as Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Twitter Inc. Selling Bytedance Inc.'s operations in several major English-speaking markets to Microsoft Corp. raises the hope that TikTok might suffer the sort of benign neglect that's neutered other Microsoft-owned media assets, such as LinkedIn and Skype. Facebook lost no time in launching a copycat video-sharing service to compete.The decision opens a Pandora's Box that digital platforms might one day wish had been kept closed. By citing data privacy and foreign influence to justify its restrictions, the U.S. has thrown a spotlight on issues that Silicon Valley's social media companies have done well to keep in the shadows as they've grown to world-spanning power.While it's tempting to label President Donald Trump's actions around TikTok a "shakedown," his administration hasn't been uniquely hostile to foreign investment, despite a barrage of hot rhetoric and high-profile cases around Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. Even after a law was passed in 2018 to tighten national security scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., Washington's takeover-review panel, investigations by last year were being initiated at a rate similar to during President Barack Obama's second term. Foreign direct investment in the U.S.,
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 Eventbrite Inc. shares were up 5% in after-hours trading Thursday after the event-management services company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates but a sharp decline in revenue, reflecting the devastating impact coronavirus has had on live entertainment. Eventbrite reported a loss of $38.6 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a loss of $14.8 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue plunged 90% to $8.4 million from $80.8 million a year ago. The company did say its expense reduction plan, announced in April, "remains on track to yield at least $100 million in annualized expense savings by the fourth quarter of this year." Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a loss of 50 cents a share on sales of $13.5 million. Eventbrite shares are down 57% this year. The broader S&P 500 index is up 3.7% in 2020.
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The global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed above 18.8 million on Thursday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, and the death toll rose to 708,036. At least 11.3 million people have recovered. The U.S. case tally climbed to 4.8 million and the death toll rose to 158,256. President Donald Trump said again Wednesday that the virus will go away soon, while Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said it may not be brought under control until late 2021. Brazil is second to the U.S. with 2.9 million cases and 97,256 deaths. India is third measured by cases at 1.9 million, followed by Russia with 870,187 and South Africa with 529,877. Mexico has 456,100 cases and 49,698 deaths, the third highest in the world. The U.K. has 307,271 cases and 46,295 fatalities, the highest in Europe and fourth highest in the world. China, where the illness was first reported late last year, has 88,423 cases, and 4,678 fatalities.|
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Zillow Group Inc. shares skyrocketed more than 9% in the extended session Thursday after the real estate company reported second-quarter revenue well above Wall Street expectations and said work-from-home trends have led more people to think about moving. Zillow said it lost $84.5 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $72 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 28% to $768 million, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a GAAP loss of 68 cents a share on sales of $615 million. "Zillow's second-quarter results are even better than we had hoped, and firm up our belief that powerful tailwinds in both real estate and technology are rapidly converging, with Zillow at the nexus," Chief Executive Rich Barton said in a statement. The COVID-19 pandemic and work-from-home policies "are inspiring people to rethink their homes and consider moving," he said. Zillow said it ended the quarter with the highest cash balance in its history, or cash and investments growing to $3.5 billion from $2.6 billion at the end of first quarter. Its home buying and selling business started the quarter with home acquisitions temporarily paused due to market uncertainty, but it has resumed buying and selling homes, ending the quarter with 440 homes in inventory, the company said. "Zillow Offers is now actively purchasing homes in all 24 markets where it previously operated," it said. Shares of Zillow ended the regular trading day up 1.2%.
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T-Mobile US Inc. shares surged in the extended session Thursday after the wireless provider said it surpassed AT&T Inc. in number of customers, making it the second-largest largest U.S. provider behind Verizon Communications Inc. , following its merger with Sprint. T-Mobile shares rallied 6% after hours, following a 0.2% rise in the regular session to close at $108.10. T-Mobile said it added 1.2 million net new customers for a total of 98.3 million. The company reported second-quarter net income of $110 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with $939 million, or $1.09 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $17.67 billion from $10.98 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 12 cents a share on revenue of $17.64 billion. T-Mobile closed its acquisition of Sprint back in April. AT&T reported its earnings back in July.
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Camping World Holdings Inc. [s:CWH] shares dropped in after-hours trading Wednesday even after the RV retailer beat expectations because of a surge in demand during the pandemic. Camping World shares fell 3% after hours, after rising 8% in the regular session to close at $42.29. The company reported second-quarter net income of $163.2 million, or $1.54 a share, compared with $52.6 million, or 46 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $1.62 a share, adjusted for lease terminations, compensation and more. Revenue rose to $1.6 billion from $1.47 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 57 cents a share on revenue of $1.52 billion. Camping World shares are up 187% this year, compared with the S&P 500 Index [s:SPX], which is up 2.3% so far.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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The future of flying is starting to take shape at major airlines, and it looks bleak for employees. Airline executives say traffic will be down 30% in the fall, and some predict it'll take at least three years for travel to rebound to 2019 levels.
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 Shares of Zynga is advancing 3.4% in the pre-market session on Thursday after the mobile gaming company reported record second-quarter revenues. Its top-line results benefited from shelter-in-place directives amid COVID-19 pandemic which drove demand for digital games.Zynga's (ZNGA) revenue jumped 47% to $452 million year-over-year mainly due to a 61% increase in online game user-pay revenues. Furthermore, the company expects 3Q sales to grow 29% to $445 million year-over-year.Zynga's CEO Frank Gibeau said, "We delivered tremendous results in Q2, achieving our highest quarterly revenue and bookings and generating Zynga's best quarterly operating cash flow in more than eight years."Following the strong results, Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian raised his price target to $12 (19.2% upside potential) from $10, and maintained a Buy rating on the stock, saying that "Zynga continues to benefit from elevated levels of user engagement, with strong growth evident across the company's portfolio."Like Baird, Piper Sandler analyst Yung Kim raised the price target to $13 (29.1% upside potential) from $11, and reiterated a Buy rating. Kim believes that the momentum is building for Zynga "as it continues to benefit from its strong live services engine in the interim."Currently, ZNGA has a Moderate Buy analyst consensus. The average price target of $10.73 implies an upside potential of about 6.6%. (See ZNGA stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Zimmer Biomet Slips 3.7% On 2Q Profit Decline Fiverr Pops
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Ride-hailing giant Uber brought in $2.24 billion in revenue during the second quarter, down 27% from the same time last year. Its Eats delivery business brought in $1.21 billion, up 103% from last year's second quarter.
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 (Bloomberg) -- The darkening economic backdrop to the U.S. equity rally is translating into booming demand for a breed of young funds that promise to both share in gains and cushion losses.Investors have poured more than $2.2 billion this year into exchange-traded funds known as buffers, which seek to shield them against a certain percentage of declines in return for a cap on their potential upside.Fear of missing out on the S&P 500's march back toward a record combined with rising coronavirus cases is boosting the appeal of these defined-outcome products, reckons Bruce Bond at Innovator ETFs. The firm launched buffers in 2018, targeting retail investors and financial advisers looking to manage risk."They're just completely exposed to the tragedy and the upside of the market," said Bond, Innovator's chief executive officer. "The more sophisticated investors, they control that exposure."The good news for investors piling in is that so far this year, buffer funds have performed as promised.At the height of March volatility, the $246 million Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF, ticker POCT, was down 17.5% for the year compared with a 30% slump for the S&P 500. Five months later, the U.S. benchmark is up about 4% and the ETF has gained around 2.8%.While Innovator currently commands the lion's share of defined-outcome ETF assets, popularity and performance are breeding competition. Allianz Investment Management launched two buffers in June to complement its similarly structured variable annuity
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Commodities giant Glencore reported a loss for the first half of the year and scrapped its dividend, as the coronavirus pandemic sapped demand and lowered prices and production at its mining division.
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Gilead said it plans to produce more than 2 million treatment courses of the drug by the end of the year and anticipates being able to produce "several million more" in 2021.
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ViacomCBS Inc. shares rose 6% premarket Thursday, after the company posted better-than-expected profit and sales for the second quarter, even as the coronavirus pandemic hurt advertising revenue. The company said it had net income of $478 million, or 77 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $971 million, or $1.57 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.25, ahead of the 95 cents FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 12% to $6.275 billion from $7.143 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $6.181 billion. "Despite the impact of COVID-19 on revenue in the quarter, we're successfully managing through the effects of the pandemic, reaffirming the strength of our combined operations," Chief Executive Bob Bakish said in a statement. Affiliate revenue rose 2%, while advertising revenue fell 27%, hurt as COVID-19 dampened global demand. Domestic streaming and digital video revenue rose 25% to $489 million. Content licensing revenue was flat, and theatrical revenue was "immaterial" with cinemas closed during the pandemic. Publishing revenue fell 8%, driven by lower print book sales. The company said it's on track with the rebrand and relaunch of CBS All Access in early 2021. Shares have fallen 38% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 3%.
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