Charter to acquire Liberty Broadband, Spotify reports Q3 beat: Morning Buzz

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Charter (CHTR) agreed to acquire Liberty Broadband (LBRDA) in an all-stock transaction
• Spotify (SPOT) reported upbeat Q3 operating income and revenue
• Instacart (CART) reported better-than-expected Q3 results
• Rivian (RIVN) and Volkswagen (VWAGY) entered into a pact to create a new joint venture, with a total deal size of up to $5.8B
• Groupon (GRPN) reported mixed Q3 results but provided revenue guidance for Q4 and FY24

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Starbucks (SBUX) downgraded to Sell at Redburn Atlantic
• Wells upgraded BankUnited (BKU) on potential for takeout under Trump
• Exane downgraded RH (RH) to Underperform on growing liquidity concerns
• Caterpillar (CAT) downgraded to Underperform at Evercore ISI
• 3M (MMM) assumed with Buy from Neutral at UBS

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Baidu (BIDU) has unveiled smart glasses that will “become a private assistant” by tracking calories, playing music, and more, FT says
• SoftBank’s (SFTBY) Vision Fund co-CEO Rajeev Misra will step down from his leadership roles, The Information says
• Amazon (AMZN) is officially shutting down its free, ad-supported video streaming service called Freevee, Variety reports
• J&J (JNJ) has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration over a closely watched dispute focusing on payment methods for some hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program, STAT reports
• Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is planning to file for bankruptcy after merger talks with Frontier Airlines (ULCC) broke down, WSJ says

4. MOVERS:

• Lexeo Therapeutics (LXEO) and Altus Power (AMPS) increase after reporting quarterly results
• Spire Global (SPIR) higher after announcing it will sell its maritime business to Kpler for approximately $241M
• Dave (DAVE) and Honest Company (HNST) gain after reporting Q3 results and raising guidance for FY24, respectively
• Progyny (PGNY) and ZoomInfo (ZI) lower after reporting quarterly results
• SoundHound AI (SOUN) falls after Ladenburg downgraded the stock to Neutral following the release of its quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Skyworks (SWKS) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1
• Rocket Lab (RKLB) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Cava Group (CAVA) reported Q3 results, with CEO Brett Schulman commenting, “Our third quarter results demonstrate the strength of our Mediterranean category-defining brand and the broad appeal of our unique value proposition”
• Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY24
• MasterCard (MA) provided its performance objectives for 2025-2027

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 200.64, or 0.46%, to 44,111.62, the Nasdaq was up 25.00, or 0.13% to 19,306.40, and the S&P 500 was up 17.54, or 0.29%, to 6,001.53.