MORNING NEWS

Porsche car deliveries fell 15% in the first quarter as the end of production of its petrol-powered 718 range and the discontinuation of tax incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. dented sales. Strong deliveries of the fully electric Macan model following its market launch in the first quarter last year also skewed this year’s figures, it said. The German luxury sports-car maker said Friday that it delivered 60,991 cars in the first three months of the year, down from 71,470 in the same period last year.

Lindt & Sprüngli has already completed its share buyback program, which began in August 2024, ahead of schedule on April 9, 2026. A total of 601 registered shares and 39,420 participation certificates with a combined value of 499.3 million Swiss francs were repurchased.

Arcline Investment Management-backed Arxis plans to raise roughly $1 billion in an initial public offering that could value the maker of electronic and mechanical components for aerospace and defense at more than $11 billion. Arxis - Arcline’s first portfolio company to file for an IPO - is one of several aerospace and defense companies expected to hit the public markets this year as investors move to capitalize on heightened interest in the sector amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Madison Dearborn Partners-backed drone manufacturer Aevex Aerospace, for example, has also filed for an IPO. In January, European defense company Czechoslovak Group, or CSG, went public in Amsterdam at an initial valuation of roughly €25 billion, or around $29.2 billion.

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on X Tuesday that the country's Supreme National Security Council agreed to cease attacks and allow "safe passage" of ships through the Strait of Hormuz coordinated by Iran's Armed Forces for two weeks. Just minutes earlier, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran reopening of the strait.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory-chip maker, forecast a more than eightfold jump in first quarter operating profit, signaling continued record earnings amid the artificial-intelligence boom despite uncertainties fueled by the Middle East conflict. In preliminary results Tuesday, the South Korean technology company said its operating profit likely reached 57.200 trillion won, equivalent to $37.91 billion, for the January-March period. That would be 755% higher than the year-earlier figure, topping a FactSet-compiled consensus estimate of 39.140 trillion won.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is one step closer to staging what could be the largest initial public offering of all time. The satellite builder and rocket operator has confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. SpaceX is aiming for an IPO that could raise between $40 billion and $80 billion, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The filing puts the company on track to potentially list shares by July, as Musk has told people is his goal.

Nike’s comeback is hitting some bumps, with the sneaker company projecting sales declines ahead, including a sharp drop in its key China market. The company said on Tuesday that it expects sales to fall by low-single digits from now through the end of 2026, with a 2% to 4% decline in the current fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast a 1.9% increase this quarter.

General Motors will run its heavy-duty truck plant in Michigan six days a week starting in June, citing strong demand for its most powerful pickups even as gas and diesel prices rise. Flint Assembly plant currently runs around the clock on three shifts, five days a week. The additional production day will allow the plant to churn out more Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

The sale of a stake in Nestlé's water business is moving forward, the FT reports, citing unnamed sources. This division includes brands such as Perrier and San Pellegrino. According to the FT, the investment groups CD&R, KKR, and PAI are participating in the next round of bidding for a 50% stake in the division.

Merck has reached a nearly $6 billion cash deal to buy the cancer biotech Terns Pharmaceuticals and its promising leukemia treatment. If it proves to work safely, the experimental drug would give Merck a boost as the company prepares for its top-selling drug, Keytruda, to lose patent protection. Under the terms, Merck would pay $53 a share for Terns, Merck said.